A Blak Nite's Christmas
by BlakNites240
Summary: A continuation of my Blak Nites story. Nik comes home for the holidays. His old run, Highland, is about to be taken over by a racer named Kim from a team called Black Roses. She sets her sights on him and his title. Nik only sets his sights on her...
1. Home for the Holidays

Hogashinu Nikorasu sat in the window seat and stared out over the open land and cities of north eastern America. His brother Alex, who sat next to him, listened to his CD player silently and bopped his head. His cousin Motouji Meikeru, who sat closest to the outside, sat sleeping. They were on their way back home from Japan.

Nik had promised his mom that he would come home for the holidays this year. He hadn't come home the year before and now he just had to. Not to mention weather in Japan right now was nasty and he didn't want to be around it. He didn't expect the weather in New England to be much better.

He heard the voice of one of the stewardesses come on over the intercom, "Ladies and Gentleman, we will now be making our final descent to Baker International Airport. We appreciate you flying with us today and enjoy your stay."

Nik reached his arm over Al and shook Mei awake. He got up groggily and put on his restraint belt. The plane came down fast and landed quickly as well. Nik was glad.

Al looked at his brother, "Any Idea's on how to convince mom and dad to let me stay with you in Japan?"

Nik shook his head, "Show them your report card for one. Besides that, beg and plead."

"The great FC driver has no ideas."

Nik sighed, "The great FC driver is still in Japan with his FC."

"Oh yeah, what did they call you hear?"

Nik sighed as he felt the plane bump upon landing, "The Highland 240…"

Al nodded and looked at the look on his brother's face. He looked as if his puppy had just died and Nik didn't have a puppy. What was up with him today? He looked at him with a worried look on his face, "You ok?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Ok…"

The one reason Nik didn't like the window seat was getting out. It always took him forever. Eventually he followed Mei and Al out of the plane and into the main area. After clearing their passports they walked out and Nik immediately noticed the watchful eyes of his mother. When the crowd died down, his father, sister, and aunt came into view.

They walked over and met them happily. Mei met immediately with his mother and smiles arose from both of their faces. Al went immediately for his father. Nik hugged his mom with a smile and heard her voice clearly, "Welcome home Nick."

Nik smiled and then pulled away. He was immediately met by the arms of his thirteen year old sister, Hilary. He brought her close, "How've you been shorty?"

She smiled as she pulled away from her brother, "Good, you?"

"Same ol, same ol."

Then he met the man whom he stood two inches taller than, his father. He saw his dad's smile on his face as he hugged him, "Welcome home."

"Good to be home pop."

Then his dad took a bag from each of his sons as they made their way out to the parking lot. There stood three cars in a row. First was Mei's Mom's Pontiac Bonneville which held a black luster that had been given to it by the sun. Then came Nik's father's Jeep Grand Cherokee, his dad's old, beat-up, bundle of joy. Then Nik's eyes wandered upon his great, old friend.

His dad walked up behind him and handed him the keys, "She still runs great."

Nik took the keys and opened the trunk of his turbocharged Nissan 240SX. He put his bag in it and was soon met by his brother's bag ramming into his arm before it fell in the trunk. He watched as the blonde-haired punk stepped into the passenger seat. Nik looked ahead at Mei as he was about to step inside of the Bonneville, "See you on Thursday?"

Nik smiled, "Yup, see you then."

Nik heard the tires squeal as Mei pulled out of the lot. Then Nik looked at his father as he got into the drivers side of his car, "Look, be home within at least two hours. I remember what used to happen when you got behind the wheel of that thing."

Nik nodded with a smile and stepped into his driver's seat. He slowly put the key into the ignition and turned it. He heard the engine roar to life and all 290 horses come to life. He revved it up twice before pushing it into gear and peeling out of the lot with a smile. He was back home alright.

He accelerated onto the highway and pushed the car into fifth gear. He pulled off soon after and took the paved back roads all the way home. He knew every road all across Connecticut. He soon was on the way home but decided to stop for pizza at this small restaurant he knew.

Nik pulled in with his brother and parked the car next to a Ford pick-up. He got out and walked inside. Al picked a place to sit and ordered them a pepperoni pizza. Nik didn't mind, he was happy to have American pizza again.

As Nik and Al ate their pie, they heard a conversation going on behind them. It was between two guys who looked only about 20. They sounded like they were talking about a race.

The blonde haired one spoke first, "Hey, did you hear?"

The red head spoke after him, "About the race?"

"Yeah, I heard that the Black Roses are going up against Jesse's Thunder team."

"Yeah, there no doubt going for turf. The Black Roses have almost every good run taken over from here to the mass line."

"No doubt on who's racing for Roses. Who do you think is gonna run for Thunder?"

"Jesse in his Integra probably. I've heard ever since the Highland 240 left, no one can really hold up a solid run on the lake."

"Yeah, but that 240 was just a legend."

"No, my brother saw one of his races a few years ago."

"Really? Wow, he must have been amazing."

"Yeah, I wonder where he went. He wasn't much older than us so I don't know."

"Yeah, surprising how the best rally driver in town just up and disappeared."

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it though."

"How can I not? I don't want the lake to be turned over to Roses so easily."

"What can we do about it?"

Nik smiled at the fact that he was remembered but who the hell could these new drivers be. Taking over turf was something that seemed a little dominant. He shook it off and finished off another piece of Pizza. They watched as the two guys walked out to the Chevy Cavalier they had and watched them drive off. Nik thought to himself, _'Black Roses…?'_

Nik and Al got home one minute before seven o'clock. They saw their parents had finished dinner and saw no sign of Haley. His mom told him that she had gone out. Nik walked up behind Al and walked into the pa….

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM!"

Nik's mom came rushing up the stairs, "Nick, what's wrong?"

"My…my room…it's so clean…"

Al looked back at him as he through his bag onto their couch, "It wasn't me."

Nik's mom sighed, "We cleaned it while you two were away. It's the only way we knew it would stay like this."

Nik sighed, "Ma, don't clean my room without my permission."

"Nick, you live half way around the world."

"You could at least call and ask…"

His mother sighed again and walked down stairs. Nik through his bag into a corner and stretched himself out on his old lower bunk. He watched as Al's lowers legs disappeared as he scooted his body onto the top bunk. Nik smiled and closed his eyes. He was home…

-

She stood at the starting line and looked over at Jesse's team as they pulled up to the line. Jesse's Integra came right to the starting line. She got into her 911 GT and pulled it up to the line next to him. She looked back at the multiple dark colored cars that the rest of her teammates had and then back at her opponents Blue Acura.

Her mind wandered to the thoughts about his car, _'Acura Integra with what sounds like a turbo upgrade. I'd mark it at around 220 horsepower. Then if you account for the drivers skill, or lack there of, I'd consider this race to be easy.'_

A deep, sexy smile crept to her face. Her voice was clear and sultry, "You ready?"

Jesse grunted lightly and then nodded as he got into the driver's seat of his car. She continued smiling and stepped into her own driver's seat. She revved up the engine and then smiled at the satisfaction she got from its over-whelming power. She let it rumble one more time before it settled and she shifted into first gear.

She and Jesse waited as a member of the Thunder's came up to the line and started the count down. She looked down the road and made her way off the line at one. The race was on and she knew it was over before it even started…

-

Nik sat on his bed in a subconscious state that was broken by the sound of his brother, "Are you gonna go check out the race?"

"Yeah." Nik's head tipped over onto his pillow and his eyes wandered to the clock that was right next to his bed, "I still got another hour before ten, then race time."

Al smiled, "Races round here start at nine dude."

Nik's eyes widened and he rolled out of bed onto his feet. He picked searched around on his night table as Al rolled off of his bed, "Give me a sec while I get dressed."

Nik found them and ran out the door, "No time!"

Al looked down the stairs his brother rushed down, "You're not wearing any pants!"

Nik yelled back as he ran out the door, "Won't matter as long as I stay in the car!"

Nik slid into the velvet seats in his 240 and started the engine. He revved it twice and started down his hill. He wasn't that far from the starting line and he knew he could find a good vantage point. He knew this road like the back of his hand.

-

She drifted through the first corner and accelerated at the end, only increasing her lead over the Acura Integra. She turned her wheel lightly to the right and accelerated past the watching spectators. She was really putting on a show instead of racing.

She made it to the top of the small hill and she saw lights coming down from the side road. She sighed and went towards the next continuous set of corners. She drifted wide and then tightened up on the outside of the next turn and she cut off the car that was coming down. She didn't care much. It was just a stupid guy who should watch what he's doing.

-

Nik slammed on the brakes when he saw the red blur go past him and around the next corner. What was that guy thinking? Nik laid down hard on the accelerator and went after him. He wasn't gonna let someone take advantage of him on his turf.

Nik handled the upcoming left easily and then reverse drifted around the next corner. This course was all about surprising corners. If you didn't know the course well, you would easily end up in the bottom of the lake. Nik took the next peak hairpin easily and then saw the headlights disappear around the next hard right.

Nik took the right and then accelerated around the light left and got onto a straight. He could see the car ahead of him clearly now. It was a Porsche. He got cut off by a Porsche. Now he was getting pissed…

-

She looked in her rearview mirror and saw headlights, something she wasn't expecting. Even more surprising was the fact that they didn't belong the Integra. They looked like they belonged to an MR2 or a 240.

She accelerated harder along the straight but this guy wouldn't let up. Then she took the hard left and then she was nearly caught by the 240. It was even closer now. It had been barley any distance since this guy started following her and he had caught up by now. Who was he?

Her car approached the next wide turn and she hugged the inside of the turn. Her follower followed her through while still hugging the turn. He wasn't trying to pass. He was just following.

-

Nik accelerated around and then kept on the Porsche tight. He was right behind him and kept drafting in order to keep up his speed. This was a long straight so he'd just have to deal with it.

The lake run was basically a lot of corners until the halfway point then a straightaway with a lot of light curves. Then a few more turns at the end before the finished off.

Nik didn't mind drafting. He could really get under the drivers skin by doing something like this. No it was all a matter of finishing up the run right behind her. It's not like it was a race or anything…


	2. What A Night

Nik followed the Porsche tight around the next turn that put them onto the main road. He then accelerated around the other one and was right on its tail. He accelerated harder and then slid around the next turn.

Nik still wasn't as comfortable with his 240 as he was with his FC. He and his FC had a bond but he had yet to build up a bond like that with the 240. He knew he had a bond with the car itself but he hadn't built up a bond with the car's spirit. He didn't find about the deeper connection until he had gone to Japan. The mountains will teach you the most interesting things…

Nik accelerated around the next hairpin turn and then made his way along the final uphill stretch. He pulled along side of the Porsche and looked over. He was surprised by who he saw as the driver. A chick…

-

Her eyes fell onto the driver of the 240 as she made her way up the uphill stretch. He had messy brown hair that almost reached his shoulders and hazel eyes. His eyes met with hers and they were locked until they heard the people screaming at the finish line.

She slowed down and pulled up next to all her other teammates. She stepped out and met the looks of all of her fellow racers. She was overwhelmed with questions of who he was. In all honesty, she was wondering too…

-

Nik smiled as he stepped out of his 240. He looked around and heard cheers all around. Then he heard one group cheer, "240! 240!" He smiled. He apparently was a driving legend around here. Behind him he saw the headlights of an old friend's car coming up.

He walked over and smiled, "You should have told me you were racing, I would have come to laugh at you."

Jesse stepped out of his car and looked at Nik, "Welcome home asshole."

Nik smiled and then heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw the girl who was in the Porsche standing behind him. She sighed and looked at Jesse, "So were agreed that we have control of the lake territory?"

Jesses smiled and shook his head, "You didn't win."

She looked surprised, "Yes I did, I beat you by at least twenty seconds. I beat the best on the lake so my team gets the territory."

Nik smiled, "You tied him actually."

She looked into his eyes, "Who the hell are you?"

"Hogashinu Nikorasu, people just call me Nik."

"Nik? So you're the Highland 240?"

Nik smiled, "Yup."

"Why did you decide to crawl out of your rock?"

Nik looked surprised. He almost fell. He looked back at her, "I haven't been hiding, I just have been in Japan. I came home for Christmas."

"Well, in that case I'm gonna race and beat you while you're still here. When?"

Nik shook his head, "I came back here to take a break from racing. No matter how much I miss my FC, I'm not gonna race."

"FC? You would race that outdated piece of crap?"

"You're a crazy chick. The FC is a…"

_-SMACK!_

Nik felt the full force of her hand as it made contact with his face. Nik's hand slid over his cheek as he rubbed it gently. His cheek was throbbing. That hurt. That had really hurt.

-

She sighed and walked away from him back over to her car. She turned around and saw him running over to her. What part of 'smack!' didn't he understand? She sighed and acknowledged his existence.

"What?"

"Why did you slap me?"

"Because I didn't want to get my mouth dirty by biting you."

"Huh?"

"I really don't like being called a chick."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, right…"

"What? I am."

She unlocked the driver's side door and stepped into her car, "In my experience, most men who say 'sorry' don't really mean it."

"I'm not most men."

She sighed and pulled out of the side of the road. She watched as he watched after her as she drove away from the starting line. His eyes were glued to her car apparently. What was with this moron?

-

Nik sighed and walked back over to Jesse, "Why is everybody leaving at 9:30?"

"Cops. There shift ends at 9:00 so that's when the roads are clear."

"Oh, so you guys race this early just to avoid the cops?"

"Yup, ain't like Japan out here."

"Yeah, hey, you wanna hang out tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure, meet me at the pizza place."

"Which one?"

"Luigi's, see you tomorrow!" Nik watched as his tires squealed as he pulled away. Nik looked after him. Luigi's? He had never heard about Luigi's. He sighed and walked over to 240. He almost opened the door when he realized something. No one noticed he wasn't wearing pants.

Nik smiled and drove home fast. It wasn't too far but he just wanted to get there. He pulled into the driveway next to his dad's Jeep and turned off the engine. He got out and walked inside to see his parents sitting and waiting for him. Nik smiled and waved as he walked past them and made his way up to his room. He then met the eyes of his brother.

Alex looked down at him as he turned off the TV with his remote. He hopped off the bed and looked at his brother, "You went to a race half naked without me?"

Nik smiled, "Apparently."

Al sighed and let him walk by him and get underneath his blanket. Nik closed his eyes and turned his head. He heard Al's bed squeak as he slid on top of it. Al's voice could be clearly heard two minutes later, "So how was the race?"

"Not bad, my old friend Jesses raced a cha... a girl from Black Roses."

"What cars?"

"Honda Integra and a Porsche 911 Carrera."

"Carrera won?"

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess, a girl was driving?"

Nik nodded, "Yup, I didn't catch her name though."

"Did she have big breasts?"

Nik kicked the upper bunk, "Don't talk about that kinda shit, be respectful."

Al sighed and waited a few seconds before he said, "Well?"

"They were alright."

"Maka or Miki?"

"I don't know."

Al spoke in an displeased tone, "Alright, don't tell me."

"Yeah, sure."

"Did she have a nice ass?"

Nik looked up at him, "Stop asking me what she looks like!"

"Why? Didn't you check her out?"

"Yes, she was hott, ok?"

"Ok, chill, god. You're acting like she's Hilary or something…."

"I know, it's weird…"

"Do you like her?"

"I don't know. She's cute but she hits fucking hard."

"She hit you?"

"Yup, straight across the face, smack."

Al whistled like he was impressed, "I like her."

"Yeah…"

Al rolled back onto his bed and Nik stared at his top bunk which had a picture of a WRX and a 350Z. What was with this girl? He meets some random girl, races her, ties her, gets slapped by her, and then she disses him by driving away and he can't get her mind off of her. What was with this girl?

-

What was with that guy? The entire way home she couldn't get him out of her head. What was with this? She had to stop thinking about him before she got home or she knew she would get questioned. She looked into her rearview mirror and stared at her own eyes. They were green.

She sighed and took a corner onto a barley visible side street and drove towards home. She pulled up to the apartment building and parked on the street. After locking her car, she walked inside and went up the stairs to her apartment. She hadn't seen her mom's car out front. That was a good sign…

She walked to her door and unlocked it while whispering, "Please don't be home, please don't be home, please don't be home…"

She opened the door and saw no one. She sighed with relief and smiled. She set her keys down on the center table. She sat on one of the stools that were on the bar-like kitchen table and sighed. What was with that guy?

"Kim, that you?"

She turned her head and met the eyes of her younger brother. She sighed, "Yeah, it's me."

He walked over and sat next to her, "How was your race?"

"Peachy."

"What happened?"

"It was a tie." She stood up and took off her black leather jacket.

"Oh, that sucks."

She shook her head, "Yeah, I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed. G'night D."

"Hey, Jason called; he said to call him back."

She cringed at the sound of her ex-boyfriends name. She sighed, "If I was him, I wouldn't expect a phone call any time soon."

She walked into her bedroom and slammed her door shut. She walked over to her CD player and put on a light CD she could listen to while she took her shower. She smiled and listened to the song for a minute before walking into her bathroom.

She turned on the water for her shower almost randomly and then she listened to it run for a minute with a smile on her face. She then backed away and slid her clothes off gently before stepping into the shower. She enjoyed the feeling of the slightly cold water as it ran down her body.

Her smile left her face as her thoughts wandered back to that guy. She leaned her body against the wall and let the water run off her as she stared into the foggy glass door that closed off her shower.

He didn't seem any different then any racer at first. But then when she talked to him he seemed calmer and less high strung then most of the guys she knew. And even before that, his eyes were deep. Really deep…

She finished her shower and shut off the water as she stepped out. She wrapped a towel around her body and then another one around her black hair that extended almost 2 inches below her shoulders. She walked out into her bedroom and found a blue hoodie and a black pair of pajama pants.

She threw her top sheet down to the bottom of her bed and slid in before she pulled it back up. She stared at her ceiling and shut off her light. The color changed from white to gray quickly.

She closed her eyes for a second but she couldn't get the look of his gaze out of her head. Three times she could remember him looking at her with the same gaze that she couldn't get out of her head. When she was neck and neck at the finish line, when he was talking like he was more than another guy, and then when she was driving away and his eyes were captured in her rearview mirror.

She heard a light knock on her door and saw a middle aged women walk in, "You ok Kim?

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine."

"How are things with Jason?"

"There no longer are any things with Jason."

"Really? Then what's with that hint of green in your eye?"

She blinked quickly and then sighed. Figures that her mother would now more about her then even she did, "Nothing, just a hint of green."

Her mom walked to her door before she said something, "What's his name?"

"Nik."

She saw her mothers cheeks raise as she walked out the door. Kim yawned and put her head back on her pillow. She stared up at her now dark ceiling and thought about him again. What was with this boy? Was it fate that she met him? She didn't know. All she knew was his name. Hogashinu Nikorasu. Nik…


	3. Crossing Paths

"Get up you lazy asshole!"

Nik's eyes squinted open as he struggled to adjust himself to the light. He could barley make out a female figure. As his eyes opened more he could make out the shiny blond hair that belonged to his sister.

Nik sighed as he sat up, "What do you want?"

"I need a ride and mom told me to ask you. She's going Christmas shopping with dad."

"Ask Al."

"He left around ten in dad's old truck."

Nik's eyes wandered over to his alarm clock. It read 11:34. He sighed and thrusted his knuckle into his bed as he pushed himself up. He rolled over and looked at Hilary, "Do you know how to start a vehicle with a standard transmission?"

"Yes."

Nik reached onto his side table and picked up his keys. He lightly tossed his keys up to Hilary and watched her catch them. She walked outside as Nik stood up and walked over to his bag. He dug through and found a pair of beige cargo pants and a blank black t-shirt that he put on quickly. He then covered up the t-shirt with an oversized red hoodie.

Nik walked out and heard the stereo on his 240 blasting out Hip-Hop. He walked over to his car and slowly slid into the driver's seat. He reached at his radio and turned off the station that was playing. He saw his sister look up at him with an annoyed glare. Nik smiled and drove out of his driveway.

Nik dropped off Hilary at the local middle school and watched her walk over to a group of people. His eyes carefully watched all of the guys in the group before he pulled away. Just because he was away for a few years didn't mean that he could trust other guys with his sister.

Kim sat in her kitchen as she slowly sipped a cup of coffee that sat in front of her. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue short-sleeved shirt. She looked up at her mother and younger brother as they left. She looked over at a clock. 11:46. She had to go too. She stood up and walked out the door after putting on her leather jacket.

She walked to the edge of the street and unlocked the door of her 911. She stepped into it and tied her hair back before she started the engine. She revved it up once before putting the car in gear and pulling off of the curb.

She drove around a turn and then pushed down harder on the accelerator pedal as she made her way up the on-ramp. She sighed and turned on her radio to a local station. She bopped her head along with the music and smiled as she made her way off the highway.

She took a corner and then pulled around a black car that was going slow in front of her. She accelerated again around another turn and then stopped in a small parking lot across from a pizza place.

She got out of the car and locked it before she walked across the street. She stepped into the back of the store and saw an aggravated Italian man standing in front of a pizza oven.

His dark eyes floated upon her and he spoke with a heavy accent, "What is it you doing here? Didn't I fire you?"

She smirked as she took off her jacket, "I knew that you wouldn't last long without me so I decided to come back for a day. I'll finish up my work week by the end of today than I'll never see your ugly face again."

She heard him growl before turning and going away. She walked over to the clock and grabbed her time card. She marked her time and then dug through the pile for an apron.

She found one and then she picked up an old order booklet. She placed it in the pocket of the apron and walked up to the counter. She looked out and saw two customers sitting at a table, waiting.

She put on a fake smile and walked over to the table. She tilted her head down and brought her head up when she had it in her hand. She looked into the eyes of the one sitting on the left, "What can I get for…"

Nik's eyes met the stain glass blue eyes that belonged to the waitress. They were different then the girl he had met the other night but he remembered the face and the body. He stared at her quickly and then brought them back down to the table.

He looked up at Jesse who was proudly wearing a delighted smile, "The best racer in the entire state works at a pizza place. That's great."

Nik's eyes drifted over to the 911 driver's face as it brought a nearly the same smile to her face, "Oh yay, I get to serve the worst driver I've ever gone against."

Nik saw Jesse automatically prepare another comeback but then Nik kicked him in the knee. Jesse looked over to him and Nik's eyes had a strong push of the words 'shut' and 'up' in them.

Nik's eyes gazed up into the blue ones of the girl who was now his waitress, "Just a pepperoni pizza will be fine."

He saw her gaze change as it fell off of Jesse and on to him, "No problem Nik."

Nik smiled. She remembered his name. Nik leaned back and watched as she walked away from him. The sun shone brightly through the window and off of her body. She looked amazing.

Kim stepped around the corner and dropped the order on the table. She walked over quickly to a chair and sat down. He was here. How could he be here? Why did she meet him again? Why?

She looked over and watched as Luigi put a pepperoni pizza into the oven and shut it. She sighed and stood up, '_Ok Kim. You have to chill out. He's just a guy like all the other guys you've ever met. Except he doesn't want you for your body…He doesn't want you at all. Does he?_

"Hey! Come get your pizza you lazy American!"

Kim's eyes became dark as she stared at the Old Italian man. She stood up and walked over quickly. She grabbed the pizza and then brushed him off as she headed back for Nik's table.

Nik watched her again as she set the pizza down. He searched for her eyes and couldn't find them. Was she avoiding him? He watched her walk away and then saw Jesse staring at him.

Nik sighed, "What?"

"Do you like her?"

Nik looked up at him, "Why would you think that?"

"It's the way you looked at her."

Nik leaned back as he pulled a piece of pizza off of the tray, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yup."

Jesse took a bite out of his slice, "You're on something, aren't you?"

"I wish I was, at least then I'd have a reason to be confused."

"Yeah, guess you're just crazy."

"I spose"

Nik and Jesse finished off the pizza quickly and then stood up. Nik said bye to Jesse and watched as he drove away. Nik walked out to his 240 and sat in his driver's seat for a moment.

He started the engine and then drove back to the school to pick up Hilary. He saw her with some guy and Nik gave the guy an evil glare. He smiled as he watched the guy back away from her and then he beeped his horn.

Hilary ran to the car and get in the passenger seat, "Am I going to be able to meet any guys while you're still in America?"

Nik shook his head, "Probably not."

Nik smiled and drove away from the middle school and took a sharp left towards home. He got there at 5:00 and let Hilary get out. Nik looked over at her when she looked at him, "Tell mom and dad I'll be home later."

Hilary agreed and Nik pulled out of the driveway. He drove back down the hill and took a turn at the bottom. He then headed back towards town…

Kim walked out of the pizza place the second that Luigi gave her her paycheck. She looked up at the night sky and smiled at all the stars. It was the first clear night she'd seen in a while. She looked over towards her red car but couldn't see it. There was a black car in front of it.

Her eyes widened as she saw the tall guy who was leaning against it. It was him, _'How did he… When did he…Why is he staring at me?' _She held back the look of shock redness in her face and walked over to him.

Her blue eyes met with his hazel ones as she stopped, "What are you doing? Stalking me or something?"

Nik shook his head, "I was wondering if you were hungry."

"Maybe."

"Well then would you like to get some food?"

"Yeah, I think I should." She started to walk around his car but then she heard his voice behind her, "I meant with me."

She turned back with a stone cold look on her face, "Why would I want to do something like that?"

"Because of the fact that you probably haven't eaten anything through most of the day."

She sighed, "So what if I didn't?"

Nik sighed, "Figures…"

"What figures?"

She watched him open the door of his car, "Nothing."

"No. What?"

Nik smiled before he sat down, "If you want to know, follow me."

Kim felt her cheeks get warmer. He was really intriguing her. She heard his engine start. She quickly stepped into her 911 and started the engine. She followed him out of the parking lot and then around a quick corner. He was really fast.

She kept following him tightly around turns but just barley breaking the speed limit. He actually accelerated harder when he saw how easily she was catching up to him. The speed wasn't a problem for Kim. She loved going fast.

She heard the screech of tires and hit her own as she stopped. She looked to her side and saw a restaurant. It wasn't especially fancy but it wasn't crappy at all. She stepped out of her car and looked over at him. He was smiling.

He walked towards the restaurant and she stood there staring at him. Nik looked back at her, "Apparently you don't really want to know, do you?"

She sighed and followed him inside. She watched as he took a seat at a small booth and she took a seat across from him. She stared across the table at him and listened to him speak.

Nik smiled, "So what do you want to eat?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, I'll just pick off your plate."

Nik sighed. Didn't this girl eat? He looked through a menu and ordered a bacon double cheeseburger. He had been deprived of American food for way too long. He needed to refuel. He was thinking of bringing 40 or so pizzas home in his suitcase.

Nik looked over into her eyes and stared. They were different then before. They changed… "You know that your eyes change colors."

She looked surprised. She sighed and looked away from the table at the wall, "Yeah, they've done that for a long time."

He smiled, "They look great in both shades."

She sighed and looked up, "If you're trying to get in my pants, its not gonna…"

"No, no, I'm sorry. I must seem like I'm coming off as a stalker and a creep."

"Just a lil."

"I'm sorry about that. I'm really not."

"So, why do I keep running into you then?"

"Last night was coincidence. Same with the pizza place unless Jesse has a hidden agenda he hasn't been telling me. The only planned meeting I've had with you was tonight in the parking lot."

"And that was because…?"

"I don't know. I'm looking for something."

"What?"

"What about you that I can't get out of my head."

"Line."

"True, but an honest line."

"…There's such a thing as an honest line?"

"Surprisingly yes."

Nik watched as a smile fell onto her face. He smiled back as his view was obstructed by a bacon double cheeseburgers and curly fries. Nik looked down at the food and then over towards her again.

He took a bite out of the burger and then looked at her. He spoke after the food had been swallowed, "Two days and I still don't know your name."

She reached over and stole one of his French fries, "Kim."

Nik smirked, "Kim…"

"Yup, its three letters unlike Nik."

"Actually it is three."

"Really? N-I-K?"

Nik took another bite out of his burger and smiled, "Yeah."

She smiled and stole another French fry from his plate. Nik returned her smile as he continued eating. The meal was relatively quiet as they discretely exchanged glances throughout the time they spent together.

Kim only ate ten of his numerous French fries. She wasn't especially hungry at all. She stood up when she saw Nik pay the tab. She walked out the door right beside him. She didn't mind now.

She walked over to her car and stared at him, "So will I see you again?"

"I hope so."

She smiled as she watched him step into his car. She heard the engine rev up before he left. She slid into her own car with a smirk on her face. _He's cute and nice. Wow…'_

She shook her head and started the engine. She pulled off of the curb and headed back home. It was a shorter distance from here then it was from Highland.

She pulled up to her own house at 9:30. She got out and walked inside. She went past her brother who was sitting in the living room and was almost to the stairs when her mother stopped her.

She heard her voice when she was 5 feet away from them, "Kimberly?"

She stopped abruptly and turned around with a forced smile, "Yes mother?"

"Do you remember Katie Strom?"

"Umm…Yeah, she used to work with you, right?"

"Yeah, she had us over for dinner a few times."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, she invited us to a Christmas party tomorrow at noon."

"Oh, that was nice of her. So we're going?"

"Yeah, it's a big thing because her son is back for the holidays."

"Oh, ok, well I'll be there."

"Good, how was your night?"

"Good."

She watched as her mother smiled and then she turned and walked up to her bedroom. She walked in and fell onto her bed. A good night. That had been the first time in a while when she had answered her mother without using the word 'peachy'.

She smiled and walked into her bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror as she pulled the hair band out of her hair. She felt it slide down to her shoulders. She smiled. Her smile held in it an emotion she hadn't had for anyone besides her family. Love…

Nik finished his 5th lake run at 10:30. He drove around once more and then drove up the small hill that took him too his driveway. He shut off the engine and walked inside to see all of his family members sitting on both of their couches.

Nik smiled and took a seat next to his brother on the blue one, "What's up?"

His dad looked over to him with a light smile, "We're just talking about tomorrow, Christmas."

Nik smiled, "Christmas in New England and no snow. Wow."

His dad nodded, "Yeah, but we actually have all the gifts at Aunt Katie's."

"Oh, ok."

His dad nodded once more, "Yeah, so, were gonna go over at noon like usual and then after lunch we'll do the gifts everyone."

Nik nodded in return, "That works."

His mom looked over with a caring smile, "So how was your night?"

Al smirked at him, "Did you go see that chick?"

Nik's eyes drifted over to Al for a second and then back to the room. Everyone was staring at him. Nik sighed heavily, "Yes, I did."

Hilary looked over with an intriguing smile, "What's her name?"

"Kim."

His dad came with a second question, "Is she nice?"

"Yes."

His mom came with a third, "Is she pretty?"

"Very."

His brother with number four, "Does she have a nice ass?"

"I told you not to ask!" Nik stood up quickly and eyed everyone in the room, "Look, I met a girl when I went to a race the other night. I ran into her again when I got pizza and then I had dinner with her till I came back here and took a few drives around the lake. I really like her. Is there any other questions?"

There were looks that floated around the room until his mom looked up at him, "No further questions."

Nik nodded and walked away. He went up the stairs and into his bedroom quickly. He ripped off his sweatshirt and t-shirt consecutively over his head and fell onto his bed. He dug his head deeper into his pillow as his long, dark, brown hair evenly spread along it.

He rolled over and stared at the pictures on the beams of the bunk bed. He closed his eyes and he could see her again. He could smell her again. He opened them and he missed her. It was scaring him. He wasn't sure how he felt. It was weird but he didn't mind. He just missed her…


	4. Merry Christmas, I s'pose

Kim raised her head from her pillow as she turned her body. She looked out her door and saw her brother standing in her doorway. She winced slightly before speaking, "What?"

"It's Christmas."

She smiled, "Oh."

Her brother returned her smile and left as she stood up. She slid on a blue hoodie and walked down the stairs to see the shiny evergreen that stood in her living room. She smiled at it and then took a seat next to her mother.

She sat and opened the gifts as the warmth of the fireplace covered her body. She smiled across the room. On the outside she was happy, but her inner self was distraught. She was still thinking about him…

Nik woke up at the sound of his brother falling on the floor. He rolled over and smiled at him as he lay, spread out, on the floor. Al stood up and looked back at Nik, "Shhh. I'm going to steal my gifts."

Nik pointed behind Al and Al turned around to see his parents staring at him. Nik walked out of his room and patted Al's head, "You should really not try to fall over when being sneaky."

Al sent him an evil glare as Nik walked down the stairs next to his sister. His eyes fell upon the gift less Christmas tree. He sighed and turned to go into the kitchen. His mom took his turn as an excuse to tell him to make breakfast.

Nik mixed up eggs and milk in a cereal bowl and then cooked scrambled eggs for his sister. He wiped out the pan and then cooked two omelets for his brother and father. He then made eggs sunny-side up for his mother. Toast came next and then the bacon. It took up a half hour of his morning.

Nik brought everything in along with his own omelet and took a seat at the far end of the table. He sat quietly and avoided most conversation that morning. He got up when he was done and went up stairs. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a long sleeve white shirt. On top of it he placed his Blue Mazda sweater.

He walked back downstairs and explained how he was going to do some last minute shopping. He walked out the door and was surprised when he was followed by his brother. Nik looked at him when they sat down in his car.

Nik's gaze was an inquisitive one that morning, "What are you doing?"

Al smiled as he took another bite out of his toast, "Coming with you, I need to get dad a gift."

"Oh…fine."

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing, I just wanted some alone time."

"Oh, I'll take dad's…"

"No, no, it's fine. Let's go."

"If you're sure…"

Nik started up the engine and revved it up twice. He put it in gear and slowly pulled out of his parking lot. He smiled as he accelerated harder to get around the turn. He drove around another corner on got onto the main street drag.

Nik powered down it quickly and then hit the highway. He pushed the car into fifth gear and kept low rpm's as to conserve gas. He pulled off the highway in the next town over and drove down a long road until he came to a stop light.

Nik took a left on green. He went up a small hill and then had to stop at another light. He drove past it and took a light left into a shopping plaza. He pulled up to a large department store and parked as close as he could to the entrance.

Al stepped out of the passenger side seat and walked up. Nik followed him silently. They walked in and saw the entire place covered in decorations. Nik sighed and walked past it and into the women's section.

He looked around for fifteen minutes until he found a pink top for his sister. It wasn't revealing at all but it wasn't ugly. He walked over to the register and saw Alex walk over with a pair of boots.

Nik looked at the boots questioningly before he heard Alex explain, "Dad kept complaining about his boots. They were being worn down a lot. I figured I'd get him a new pair."

Nik shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat."

Nik handed Al his sister's shirt and told him to pay for it. He then walked outside and walked into a performance shop next door to the department store. He had to buy a new interior part for his car.

Nik walked in and walked over to interior section and found a booklet with pictures of shifter knobs. He went through it for a while and then found one he liked, a blue Sparco knob.

He was walking over towards the register to see if they had his part in stock put stopped when something caught his eye. He walked over to look at a poster for a drift competition. He looked it down and saw that it came up on a day when he was still in the states.

"I wouldn't bother, it's basically all noobs."

Nik turned his head and met her blue eyes. His jaw opened slightly and he quickly found himself short of breath. He felt her hand as it reached to his chin and closed his mouth for him.

Kim smiled, "It's impolite to stare with your mouth open."

She watched as he returned her smile, "I'm sorry, I was just surprised."

"Oh, sure…"

She saw him shake his head, "Let's try this again. Hi."

She turned back towards him, "Hi."

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too."

"So what are you doing out on Christmas day?"

"I'm buying new spark plugs. It's about time that I change them. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm just getting a new shifter knob. It's the one thing I never seemed to replace before I left."

"What kind?"

"Sparco."

"I've got a Sparco knob in my car."

"That's cool."

"Yeah…"

She smiled and walked away. She heard heavy footsteps come from behind her. She also felt his hand on her shoulder as he stopped her. She turned and brought a look of confusion to her face, "Yes?"

"A few quick questions and you decide to run away from me?"

"Yup."

"Well can I at least have your phone number?"

She smirked, "I'm sorry, I don't give my phone number out to strangers."

Nik smiled, "Strangers? I'm just a stranger."

"No, you're a cute stranger, bye-bye."

She tried to turn but by the time she did he was standing in front of her. He looked down on her, "So you're just leaving me now?"

"If I'm supposed to see you again, I will. It's worked for the last three days. Have some faith."

She walked over to the register and quickly paid for her plugs. She walked outside and over to her car. She watched as he made his way over to his own car. She also saw someone who looked younger then him leaning against it.

She was surprised when he saw them pointing at her. She smiled at them and stepped into her car. She started the engine and pulled away from the parking lot. She headed back home so that she could follow her mother to Ms. Strom's house.

Nik stepped into his car with his brother and then started the engine. Al looked over at him when he got in the car. He was ever so obviously moving his eyebrows around in an attempt to hint something perverted.

Nik also indicated something by lifting his middle right finger up into the air and clenching the rest of his fingers into a fist. He smiled and then put his hand on the gear shift. He pushed the clutch in and put the car in reverse as he backed out of his spot.

He got onto the road again and took the back roads to Aunt Katie's house. He pulled up in front of her house and let Al out of the car. Nik then pulled up to the very large barn that was at the top of a small hill. He drove inside and parked next to another car which held the 'Blak Nites' insignia on it.

He stepped out and looked down at the legs that hung out from underneath the car. He bent down and looked at the greasy face that belonged to his cousin Mei.

He smiled and asked, "What are you doing?"

He didn't bother looking back, "I'm replacing the alternator. I came in the other night and the bastard wouldn't start. I'm hoping this is what was wrong because I spent a lot of saved money on this thing."

Nik's look became serious, "Don't waste all your money on this car. We'll need it to keep a roof over our heads when we get back."

"Don't worry; I'm getting this thing running for my mom. The Bonneville is basically dead. She's had it since '94 and she's really worn it in."

"Well I don't care. When I get back to Japan, I want to be able to eat."

"Don't worry, I'm loaded."

"To me, you only seem to be loaded with shit."

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you."

"Whatever. Can I borrow a screwdriver? I need to put my new shifter knob on."

"Sure, but can you close the door first?"

Nik walked over and pressed a button next to the garage to make it shut. He saw a large beige car coming up with something behind it as the door shut. He didn't pay attention and walked over to get a flat-head screwdriver.

Kim pulled up behind her mom's Intrepid and parked in the large driveway. She got out and looked up at an old barn on a hill. It was very beaten down but it was still standing. She shrugged and walked inside to meet all of these unknown people.

Kim stood by her mother as she entered. She saw a lot of different people who stood around and talked, older ladies sitting on a couch, and them some teenagers who sat in the kitchen talking.

She then noticed a lady who walked over and hugged her mother. She then was introduced. Her mother smiled at Katie, "Katie, this is my daughter, Kim, and my son, Dylan."

Kim watched as Dylan shook her hand politely and then Kim did the same, "It's a pleasure to meet you.

Katie smiled at her, "So polite, where do they get it from?"

Her mother looked at Katie, "Hey!"

Katie smiled and took Kim's mom into the kitchen with her. Katie looked back at Kim when she stood at the doorway to the kitchen, "If you'd like some company, my son, Mike, and his cousin are up in the barn."

Kim nodded and turned around back towards the door. When she grabbed her coat, she heard her brother behind her, "What am I gonna do while your hitting on some guy?"

Kim looked at him with an evil glare, "Go hang out with those guys up there." She pointed to a group of teenagers who were in the kitchen. One of them caught her eye. He had a bowl cut with blonde hair. Something about him was familiar.

She turned and put on her coat. She walked out the door and up towards the barn as she pondered who that guy was. Something about him was difficult to forget. Something special…

Nik stepped out of his passenger side seat as he finished putting on the shifter. He enjoyed the tight grip it gave and it was easier to grasp then his old one. His hand had slipped on his old shifter and with this one, his grip stayed strong.

He walked over to Mei who was now underneath the hood instead of the engine. Nik put his head down underneath and looked over the different parts that could keep it from starting.

Nik looked at Mei, "Wasn't the alternator?"

"The alternator was shot but it still won't start."

"Battery?"

Mei pointed up at the light that sat above their heads. It shone brightly. Nik sighed and thought for a moment about what could be wrong with the car. Nik knew that it had gas so what else…

"Did you check your sparkplugs?"

Mei's head turned to meet those of the girl who stood behind him, "No, I think she's right."

Nik's head turned and then his jaw dropped. His eyes met with the blue ones that Kim had. A smile came to her face as she spoke softly, "Hi."

Mei looked at both of them as they gazed at each other. He shrugged and walked over to his work bench where he found sparkplugs for his Monte Carlo. He came back and they were still staring at each other.

His eyes fell upon Nik, "Do you two know each other?"

He noticed the smile on her face, "Yeah, we've met."

Mei smiled at Nik as he put his head under the hood, "Bump into each other repeatedly Nik?"

Nik's glare turned evil as he looked over at his cousin. Mei ignored it and looked at the girl as he put his left hand out, "Motouji Meikeru, Mike in America, but I'm used to Mei."

She smiled and took his hand, "Kim, it's a pleasure."

Mei brought his hand back down into the car with a socket wrench, "If this works, I'll make Nik kiss you."

Kim nearly blushed at that comment but managed to contain herself. She looked over at Mei, "So, how long have you been working on getting it started?"

Mei shook his head, "Not very long, seriously for a day."

She saw Nik looking at her from the corner of her eye. She turned her body towards him and waited for him to ask her a question. He asked, "So, are you following me now?"

She shook her head, "I had no idea you were the cousin of Katie Strom's son."

Mei looked up as he grabbed the second sparkplug, "You're Tanya Daily's daughter, aren't you?"

She nodded, "How'd you know?"

"She was the only person who had kids that were coming that were as old as me."

"How'd you know I was as old as you?"

"I saw your Porsche as you were pulling up. I've got better eyes then Nik when there not focused."

"Oh, quite observant, aren't we?"

"Of some things…"

She smiled as he put his head back under the hood. She smiled and looked over to Nik who was now casually leaning against the hood of his car. She walked over and leaned against it next to him.

She smiled at him, "I could swear that I saw that guy inside with you at the performance shop."

He returned her smile, "Yeah that was my brother Al."

"Does he have a car?"

"Not here, but back in Japan he has a Toyota Corolla."

"An AE86?"

"Yeah."

"The 86 is a good drifting car. The only problem is how slow it goes."

"Speed is in the eye of the driver, don't you think?"

"No. Speed is in the car. How fast you can make it go is all that matters."

"That's only true in oval track racing."

"What do you mean?"

"The only other place speed really matters is in a drag race and there it's more acceleration. Touge is more about control then speed or power."

"Yeah, but speed plays in important role in all of those."

"Agreed, but it's more about a balance."

Mei's head made its way out of the engine and then he walked over to his driver's seat. He sat down and took his keys out of the glove box. He turned them quickly and heard the V-6 engine roar to life.

Nik got up and smiled at his cousin. Mei got out and looked down at his Monte Carlo with a smile. He then heard a knock on the door. Nik, Kim, and Mei turned towards Nik's bro Al.

Al looked at all three of them, "Aunt Katie said come in to get cleaned up. We're eating soon."

Nik watched as Mei walked out and then he looked at Kim as he walked backwards towards the door, "Coming?"

She smiled at him and then Nik felt something under his foot. It rolled and he felt his foot go forward as the grip he had held with his other was lost in the motion. His eyes widened.

His entire body was lifted off the ground. His body was straightened out about three feet up. His back hit the ground first, followed by his head and then his legs. His whole body was sprawled out and he hurt.

Nik looked up at Kim laughing at him. He smiled and sat up as the pain sent a shiver down his spine. He watched as she stood up and walked over to him. She spoke as she continued walking right past him.

She said, "You should watch where you're going."

Nik sighed and stood up. He followed her inside and then up the stairs to the kitchen. They walked in and took separate seats at the table. Nik sat between his cousin and brother as Kim sat at the end next to her mother.

Kim didn't bother with most of the events that happened during the rest of her visit. It was a lot of family tradition and it wasn't her place. She continued with the evening, said good bye to everyone, and then walked out to her 911.

She followed her mother to her car and then looked at her, "I'm gonna go for a drive, I'll be home later."

Her mom nodded, "No later then 12 if you can help it."

Kim nodded and then looked up towards the broken down barn as Nik and Mei pulled out of it and drove down to the driveway. She looked up at them as they pulled in and stepped out of there separate cars.

She walked over to them and looked at Mei, "Thank you for having my family over."

Mei shook his hood, "Don't thank me. Thank my ma."

She smiled, "So you guys going out?"

Nik nodded, "It's been a while since we've had a hardkore run together. No time like the present."

Mei came out bluntly, "Would you like to join us?"

Kim smiled and opened her mouth to speak but then she saw Nik looking over at Mei. He had a look like he was gonna kill him. Kim looked down and away, "I don't want to impose on you guys…"

Mei shook his head, "No, it's not a problem. Get in your car and follow us."

Kim looked back, "Ok…"

She turned around and stepped into her 911. She slid the key into the ignition and turned it as the engine came to life. She revved it twice before looking over at Mei and Nik to see if they were leaving.

Nik stopped at his car and looked at Mei, "Did you have to invite her?"

Mei looked back confusedly, "Why?"

"I just don't want to embarrass her."

"She took over the entire northeast corner, she can't be that bad."

"But we're the Blak Nites."

"Yeah, but ever since I lost an Akina, I realized we're not the greatest."

"No, not on Akina, but this is the lake."

"…You have a good point, but I think you just like her."

"I don't like her."

"Then why have you been so protective."

"I don't like her."

"You keep thinking that." Mei stepped into his MC and started the engine. Nik turned and slid into the racing bucket seat of his 240. He clipped the belt around him and started the engine. He pulled out behind Mei and saw the red Porsche follow them out of the driveway.

Kim pulled into the parking lot after Mei and Nik. She stepped out of her car and looked over at the two cousins as they stepped out as well. She smiled and walked over to them, "So, what are we gonna do?"

Mei looked over at Nik, "You wanna play catch-up?"

Nik nodded and Kim looked at both of them, "What's catch-up?"

Nik looked over at her with a more serious look then the one he had earlier, "Catch-up is a method of racing or practicing. On a tight track like the lake, it's really effective. You give each racer a lead and then you have the one behind them trying to catch them. You can do it with as many drivers as you want."

Kim nodded, "Sounds like a kool way of practicing."

Mei nodded, "Since you're the noob, you can go first."

Kim smiled, "I'll show you how much of a 'noob' I am."

Kim walked over to her 911 and started the engine. She pulled up to the starting line and looked at Mei, "How much of a lead do you want to give me?"

Mei bent down slightly to her window, "We'll all go in ten second intervals."

Kim nodded and looked ahead on the road. She revved the engine twice and then let it idle as Mei pulled behind her. Nik followed him and then Mei but his hand out and counted down from 5 with his fingers.

She watched as his last finger disappeared into his fist and she floored it as she went off the line. Her eyes focused in the on the road ahead of her as she shifted into third gear and pushed ahead of them. She smiled. She knew she was gonna leave both of them in the dust.

Nik looked ahead and yelled up to Mei, "How much of a lead should we give her?"

"30 seconds will do!"

Nik nodded and revved his engine as he slowly counted to thirty. When it was reached, he heard the squeal of Mei's tires as he pulled off the line. Nik kept counting to forty before he started his run. He saw Mei's taillights go around the first corner and then Nik attacked it.

Nik downshifted from fourth to second and kicked out his back end. His front grip remained strong as his back tires slid almost off the road. He straightened up and continued his run. He saw Mei at the start of the left-right combo.

Nik took the same corner as he powered into the first turn and then drifted around the second. He accelerated and he began to get a clearer view of Mei's taillights. He was catching up.

Nik followed him around the next hairpin turn to catch up with him. He was still behind, now he just had to keep up. Ahead of Mei, Nik saw another pair of taillights. These ones belonged to a Porsche…


	5. The Fastest For Now

Kim's eyes looked up into her rearview mirror. She can tell that the MC is right behind her. She figured he would catch up to her pretty quickly. She accelerated towards the next turn and put her eyes back on the road.

Kim downshifted into second gear from fourth and turned the wheel to the left. She felt the rear let up and kick out. She counter-steered and slid through the corner to finish with a high exit speed.

She smiled and looked in her rearview mirror. Her eyes widened. They had gotten closer. She put her foot farther down on the accelerator and shifted into fifth gear as she neared the next light turn.

Nik was still behind Mei and they where approaching a sequential point on the track. It was the light-right-drop turn. He called it that because the driver had to fall down three small slopes and then take the turn before accelerating up two more slopes.

There was a trick to the corner that people who are relatively new to the course wouldn't know. Most drivers would slow down in order to not hop the slope with their car. If you had a car with enough traction and entered at a low enough speed, you could keep accelerating and go around the corner without a problem. This way you would have the power needed to go up the next three slopes.

Passing during the turn was impossible because of how tight the Lake course was, so passing on the uphill slope was the best idea. Nik knew Mei would know this so he figured if he drafted Mei around the turn, he could pass by Kim right with him.

Nik downshifted into third gear and saw Kim accelerate slightly harder. She then let up and Nik followed Mei into the turn. All three cars powered through it but then Mei pulled along side Kim. Nik followed him and realized something. Mei was racing Kim. Nik wasn't even in the race until he could pass her.

Kim looked over and saw Mei's head staring at the road. How could he have caught her so fast? She accelerated and shifted in fourth gear. Mei was still with her and his car was running smoother then hers because of the automatic transmission.

Kim watched as Mei blocked her out and pulled ahead of her at the start of the next drift. She slid through and watched as he took the lead on her. She screamed out, "Bastard!"

Kim watched as he got farther away and sighed as she slightly let up on the gas. She then saw headlights shining at her in her rearview mirror. She had forgotten about Nik.

Kim accelerated and entered the next corner. She slid her backend out far and blocked Nik's car through the corner. She watched as Nik kept a tight inside line and tried an inside pass.

Kim straightened out and accelerated as she regained the inside. She looked in her rearview mirror and saw Nik staying behind her. She listened to the sound of his engine.

She quickly analyzed it in her head, _'He's still got the stock 2.4 liter engine. Turbo upgrade and then the exhaust as well. His car is still really fast. His drift technique is probably amazing…"_

Kim entered the next turn at third gear and watched as Nik powered through it. She watched as the gap was closed even more. Her car's tires were holding strong. She had lost no grip in the race.

Kim accelerated and noticed she had lost complete sight of Mei. She had let one Nite pass her. She refused to let a second. She accelerated around a slight left and continued on towards the next corner.

She slid around the medium right easily and pulled ahead of him slightly. By the end of the turn he was even closer then before. She shifted into fourth gear and powered down the long straightaway.

Nik followed her along the straightaway tight. He was almost tapping her bumper. He kept close along the long straight. They were almost equal in power. Nik knew that it would be hard to pass by her at the end of the race. He had three more turns.

Nik accelerated around the next 90 degree corner and onto the wider open road. He then took the next consecutive corner and speeded down the straight hard on her tail.

Nik then entered the next long hairpin. He pulled along the inside and gripped tight as he let of the gas and made the car drift. He looked up at Kim as she brought her car to the outside of the turn. He pulled alongside her but then had no time to pass as the finish line was less then ten yards away. He finished the race neck and neck. His second tie…

Kim smiled as she pulled along the side lot that was sitting at the starting line. She stepped out of her car and looked at Nik as he pulled up next to Mei. She saw Nik step out of his car with an expression of disappointment in his eyes.

Kim walked over and smiled, "Come on, it was only a tie."

"But on my lake…"

"Your lake?"

"Yes, my lake."

Mei smirked as he lowered his head, "I believe I'm the one who beat both of you…"

Nik looked up quickly, "That was just a lucky turn and I would have caught up with you quick and easy if she hadn't have been there."

"So are you saying you're the better driver?"

"Yes, that's why I drive the downhill on the team."

"I can handle a downhill just as good as you can."

"Yeah, like you could take me in that bulky 32 of yours."

"At least it has more power then a pathetic FC."

Kim saw an enraged Nik stepped towards Mei. She stepped in between them and looked at Nik as he stopped. His hazel eyes fell upon her. His eyes looked cute and confused like a lost puppy. She smiled sweetly for only a second before she wiped the look of her face.

Kim looked at Mei and said, "As much as I would enjoy watching you two beat each other to the ground, there's a much cleaner way to do this."

Mei looked over at her, "What?"

She pointed behind her at the set of parked cars. Mei looked like he had just gotten beat. Kim smiled and looked at Nik, "Good luck."

Nik watched as Kim walked away from him. What was with that girl? Nik wouldn't be able to concentrate on beating Mei if he couldn't get his mind off of her. He forced it out of his head but lingering thought still lay.

Nik quickly walked over to his car and started the engine. He pulled up next to Mei on the line. They each put their hands out of the window and counted down from 5 on their fingers.

The screech of tires was heard all around the lake as Nik and Mei pulled off the line. Mei pulled ahead of Nik at the start of the race. Nik held back and accelerated to stay with Mei.

Mei took the first corner by letting up on the accelerator and then getting back on it rapidly, thus by forcing his car into a drift. Nik knew if Mei kept that up, he would wear down his tires and lose traction quickly. Nik went through the process of heel/toe downshifting into second before drifting.

Nik and Mei accelerated around the two continuous turns and Mei used heel/toe on those turns. Nik gripped through the first and caught up to Mei by not losing as much speed.

Then came the next sharp right after the light left. Mei and Nik used the light left as a set up for an inertia drift. They both slid through the tight corner and Nik was forced to pull back because of a lack of road space.

Nik realized that Mei had the advantage on the lake for blocking as he sped towards the peak hairpin turn. He knew that Mei's car was wider and would take up the width of the road and then some on some tighter turns. Nik took it hard as Mei lost a lot of speed in entering the turn. Mei's car was heavy, there was no denying it.

Nik sped around the next two turns and then headed up the small incline. They then took the courses second hairpin. There was more room for Nik to maneuver on this turn but Mei still took up too much for him to pass.

They then headed for there courses crucial point. This point allowed Nik ample room to pass if he could pressure Mei into going faster. This would also involve making his own car go faster. It was risky because if he went to fast, his car could leap one of the slopes and it could cause his car to flip or at least cause some minor body damage.

Nik was willing to risk a bit of body damage in order to prove to Mei who the better driver was. Nik shifted down to fourth and pushed the car up to the red line. He went right on Mei's tail and refused to let him slow down.

Kim stood, leaning against the hood of her 911. She then heard the screech of tires as Nik and Mei came around the next hairpin turn and accelerated towards the slopes. They both were going extremely fast.

Kim chose to watch from this spot because she knew it was where Mei had passed her. If she wanted to beat Nik for her team, she would have to know how Nik drove this course.

She watched as they came towards the slopes. There was no chance of either one slowing down. They some them at the start of the first slope and then…

"Holy shit!"

Kim watched as both cars leapt the slope. They came down hard on the springs and continued driving down. Kim's widened eyes watched as they passed by her and took the corner.

Nik took the inside of the turn as Mei was trying to recover from the leap. He accelerated and had more then enough speed to rocket himself up the next slopes. Kim watched as Nik passed him and took the lead.

Kim, still dazed, ran to her 911 and started the engine. She turned the wheel and pushed down on the accelerator as the car did a 180 degree turn. She leaned the back of the car out before she straightened out with the road and followed them along the lake run.

Nik regained the lead as he accelerated around the next hard right. He then went down the straight as Mei tried to keep with him. The slope was a mental advantage Nik had used. Mei wasn't used to quick changes in a course like that.

Nik kept the lead down the straight and then took the right turn at the beginning of the final stretch. He took the second right turn and then the hairpin turn and goat an even larger lead on Mei. He then accelerated up the small hill and passed the line almost 2 seconds before Mei.

Nik pulled over to the side lot and looked at Mei's car. He saw Mei punch his steering wheel. Nik stepped out of his car and walked over. He bent down next to his window and asked, "Who's the fastest on the lake?"

Mei reluctantly said, "You."

Nik smiled, "Good."

He stood up and saw Kim's 911 coming up the hill. She parked next to Mei and stepped out she walked over to them and asked, "Who won?"

Mei stepped out of his car and said in a disappointed voice, "I didn't…"

She looked at Nik with a smiled, "Congratulations. You do know this makes me your next opponent, right?"

Nik shook his head, "I don't think so. Like I told you before, I didn't come home to race."

Kim shook her head, "Well too bad, this is the last part of the northeast we have to take. We didn't bother with it because we didn't think we'd found anyone worth our, or more importantly, my time."

Nik shook his head, "I'm not racing. My mind is made up."

Kim smiled seductively and walked up towards Nik. She put her hands on his shoulders as she pulled herself up and put her lips at his ear, "I always get what I want…"

Nik felt his body tense up as she stood against him. He relaxed as she pulled away and walked over towards her car. Nik looked over at Mei as Mei watched Kim walk away.

They both saw her drive away from them. Mei looked over at Nik and said calmly, "She's got a nice ass."

Nik rolled his eyes as he stepped into his 240. He started the engine and then headed home. He got home at about 11:30. He walked inside and saw that everyone was asleep. He saw Alex asleep on the couch and the TV was on. Nik shut off the TV and walked up the stairs into his room. He walked in and sat down on his mattress.

He stretched his arms outwards and rolled his neck. He slid his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and felt something in there. It was a piece of paper. He took it out and read it. It said "Call at 12:35" and below that that was a phone number.

Nik looked over at his clock. It read 11:52 pm. He sighed and leaned back on his bed. He closed his eyes and waited for the clock to change to 12:35. He didn't even know whose number it was, but he had a good idea…

Kim pulled into her driveway and walked into her house. She saw her mother sitting in her living room watching TV. Kim smiled at her and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. She walked in and shut the door lightly behind her so she wouldn't wake up her brother.

She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a long t-shirt. She walked into her bathroom and was in there for fifteen minutes as she changed. She came back out wearing the t-shirt over her body.

She walked over to her bed and sat down as she looked at her alarm clock.12:20 pm. She had to wait for him to call her for another 15 minutes. She leaned back on her bed and stared at her ceiling.

The time seemed to keep going on and on forever. She just sat and waited for him to call. Would he even bother calling? She wondered what she would do if some random person slid a note that says, "Call this number at this time."

Then she heard it. Her cell phone vibrated on her side table before her ring tone came on. She picked up the phone and looked at the number. It wasn't one she knew. Could it be him?

She clicked the answer button and put eh phone up to her ear as she said, "Hello?"

Nik's voice could be clearly heard on the other line, "Well, I called. What do you want?"

She smiled as she leaned back on her bed, "What I've always wanted. A race."

She heard him smile, "I had a feeling it was you."

"Yeah, so will you race me?"

"No, I've been telling you that since we met."

"Come on, isn't there anyway I could convince you?"

"What's your address?"

"Why?"

"Do you want me to race you?"

"Yes…"

"Then tell me your address."

"38 Oak ST."

"Ok, what time do you wake up in the morning?"

"Nine…ish…"

"Ok, walk outside your house at 10:00 tomorrow morning."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm asking nicely?"

"You're on something, aren't you?"

"Probably, see you tomorrow."

She heard a click as his phone was disconnected. She set her phone next to her bed and looked up at the ceiling. She kinda thought that Nik was crazy but there was a part of her that liked him. That part liked him a lot.

She closed her eyes and put her head on her pillow. He was still there in her head. She had to stop thinking about him or she wouldn't be able to make him not stop thinking about her…


	6. Getting to Know Each Other

Kim woke up the next morning at 9:02. She dug her head deeper into her pillow and closed her eyes. She was tired. She didn't know why. She was used to getting no sleep.

She rolled over and looked up at her ceiling. There were some scattered pictures around it. She smiled and sat up as the sheet slid down to her hip. She put her feet on the cold floor and felt a shiver go up her spine.

She stood up and walked out of her room and down the stairs. She smiled at her mother as she went though the living room and into her kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and walked into the living room.

She sat down next to her mother and watched the morning show that she was watching. She didn't pay much attention to it. She felt like she had forgotten something…

Kim looked out at the clock on the microwave through the opening to the kitchen. It read 9:38. She still felt like she forgot something. She looked at her mom and asked, "Did we have any plans today?"

Her mother shook her head, "None you told me about. By the way, where did you go last night?"

"I went to the Highland run with Mei and Na…."

She stood up and bolted up stairs. She saw her mother's eyes staring after her and she heard her yell up "Who?" but ignored it and slammed the door to her room. She ran into her bathroom and got into her shower. She got out five minutes later and slid a towel over herself before walking quickly over to her dresser.

She dug through her fourth drawer and found her shortest blue denim skirt. She quickly slid it on and looked through for a shirt. She then found a black, low-cut cammy and slid it on before walking over towards her mirror. She adjusted her shirt and then went back into her bathroom.

She came out five minutes later with her hair let down. She checked herself in her mirror one more time before she found her watermelon flavored lip gloss and put it on her lips. She grabbed her cell phone and stuck it in her small black purse before looking at her clock. 9:59.

She walked downstairs and went passed her mother's quickly widening eyes. Her mother stood up and was walking towards her when she grabbed her coat and walked outside. She looked across the street at the black 240 that sat idling. She then saw the star-struck eyes of the driver staring at her. She smiled and walked towards the car.

* * *

Nik watched as she walked around his car and slid into the passenger's seat. Her eyes were blue that morning. She looked over and smiled at him with full, juicy lips as she said, "Hi." 

Nik's lips quivered slightly but then managed to say, "Hi…"

Nik looked in his mirrors and saw a women smiling on Kim's front porch. Nik returned her smile as he put the car in gear and pulled away from the house. He turned around and drove away from the dead end road. He got onto Main Street and turned left as he drove down the road.

Kim looked ahead on the road and was kinda ignoring him, "How are you?"

Nik smiled and tried to keep his eyes on the road, "I'm fine. You?"

"Oh, I'm great." He watched as her hand slid down to his shifter knob which sat in 3rd gear, "I see you installed the new shifter knob. How does it work?"

Nik swallowed hard and said, "Its fine, it has great grip."

Kim sarcastically said, "Ya, the grips usually do that."

Nik took a left turn and drove onto the highway. He put his hand down onto hers to shift up to fourth gear. They both moved their hands away and Nik looked into her eyes. If it wasn't for the sound of the car behind them beeping, Nik would have kept staring and driving straight.

Nik felt her hand slowly slide away from under his as he brought his down to the shifter. He shifted to fourth and then up to fifth as he accelerated. His eyes went back towards the road. He watched the signs go by him and heard Kim sigh like she was bored.

Nik looked over and asked, "Bored?"

She looked over with a blank expression, "You drive slowly."

Nik looked at his speedometer. 72 mph. He sighed, "I don't want to get a ticket."

She sighed again, "And I thought the Highland 240 was fearless…"

He smiled as he leaned back in his bucket seat, "He is, but he's not rich. I don't want to have to pay off a ticket, or worse, be on 'Americas Most Dangerous Police Chases'."

She laughed lightly and then resumed her position. He watched as her skirt slid up exposing more of her thigh. His mind said _"Pervert"_ and his eyes shifted back to the road very quickly.

Nik got off of exit 43 and took a right turn as he drove towards a stop light. He went past the green light and drove into a large mall parking lot. He found the main entrance and parked outside.

He turned off the car and put the keys in his pocket. He opened his door and stepped out as Kim did. He looked over and saw her eyes studying the mall. She looked at him and asked, "Why are we here?"

Nik smiled, "Everything."

Kim was puzzled why Nik took her to a mall. She didn't know what to expect when she hung up with him last night but she didn't understand what the hell he was doing with her here…

She walked up next to him and followed him through the mechanical doors that led him to the main hall. She looked around and up on the second floor. She kept walking with him as he walked through the mall quietly.

Kim looked up at him and said, "Why here?"

Nik looked down and said, "I don't know, it seemed like the one place I could take you."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Nik started to point to various places around the mall as he spoke, "Restaurants, electronics stores, clothes shops, there's a lot of things to do here. I don't know you very well; I thought maybe I'd get a chance to."

"Why do you want to get to me so badly?"

"You're…..interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Yeah, interesting."

Kim sighed and realized something. He couldn't get him to race her easily. He wasn't like most guys. She sighed again and realized she needed to sit down and rethink her plan.

She looked over and saw an IHOP restaurant. She figured he'd eat something and while he did that, she could think. She looked at him and smiled, "Hungry?"

Nik nodded, "A little."

She grabbed his hand and led him into the restaurant. They were quickly seated and she began to think while he looked over a menu. His mind didn't work like the minds of normal men. He actually had the ability to think.

He also _seemed_ more interested in her mind then her body. Something she also was not used to from guys. He was also kinda romantic… in a screwed up kinda way. It didn't make sense.

It wasn't just the things that set him apart from normal men. It was also the things that set him apart from most racers she had met. A lot of them had an attitude like "I'm gonna leave you in the dust!" His was more "I don't care who wins or loses."

He wasn't competitive? How could he have become the Highland 240 if he wasn't competitive? She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her palms. This guy was confusing…

* * *

Nik ordered a short stack of pancakes and then the waiter looked at Kim and said, "And for you miss?" 

Kim shook her head, "Just a glass of orange juice."

The waiter nodded and walked away. Nik watched as he left before he leaned back in his seat. It took him a few minutes to realize that she was staring at him. His brow raised in a questioning manner.

He asked, "What's up?"

She replied simply, "Nothing."

"Are you sure? You look a little lonely."

"I'm just confused."

"'Bout what?"

"You."

"Ya, that happens a lot to people who now me. I confuse my own mother a lot."

"You really are a character, you know that?"

"What can I say, I was well written." ( winks sorry, had to toot my own horn)

"So, will you race me?"

Nik smiled. His opportunity had come, "Why do you race?"

"Why do I race? What kind of a question is that?"

"One that ends in a question mark."

Kim rolled her eyes and then narrowed them as he stared at her, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because."

"Oh my god, isn't this just a little childish?"

"Probably."

"Can you answer me with a strait answer?"

"Are you afraid to answer a question without using another question?"

* * *

"Oh my god!" Kim buried her head in her hands as she brought them down to the table. She couldn't believe how old the person she was having a conversation with was. She also couldn't believe something else. She was smiling. 

She brought her head up as her smile turned into a smirk. She watched as the waiter set his pancakes in front of Nik and placed the cup of orange juice in front of her. She took a sip before looking up at him again.

She said, "I race for the sake of winning. I want to take an opponent and bury him. I want to show them all that I'm the best. I refuse to lose."

Nik sighed, "In that case, I'm not racing you."

Kim looked up in amazement. Had he just turned her down for a race? What the… "What do you mean? What led you to that decision!"

Nik leaned back again and said, "Calm down. I won't race you because you lost your love for the sport."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me guess. When you become the best, you'll stop racing except to defend your title. Am I right?"

"Well duh! What point would it make racing opponents who aren't worth my time?"

"So they could learn."

Kim looked up at him with widening eyes. Once again, he had lost her. His lack of competitiveness was getting to her again. She sighed and leaned back in her seat before saying, "What do you mean?"

"You'll learn more from losing then you will from winning in most cases."

"I don't understand."

"When you lose, you retain more of the knowledge from the race then when you win, especially when you're on a winning streak. Winning is great, but losing isn't bad."

"Yes it is."

"How long have you had your winning streak?"

"6 months."

"My personal is going on 3 months, but my team is going on 2."

"What happened?"

"Mei crashed his Sil-eighty into a rail and it did a lot more damage than it was worth."

"Oh, wow…"

"Yeah, but that was the teams only loss in Japan."

"Well, I want your title."

"Good luck." Nik took a bite out of his stack of pancakes. Kim stared at him as she continued to drink her meal. She had a conclusion on him. He was a complete and total psychopath.

She sighed, "So where do you wanna go after this?"

"How about the touge run at the edge of Bakersville?"

Kim choked slightly on her orange juice. The Bakersville touge? How did he know? Her eye's narrowed on him as she said, "How did you know about the Bakersville touge?"

He smiled as he swallowed another bite of the pancakes, "It's the only place that you ever lost. This was back when you raced solo as 'Willow's Red Rose.'"

Kim's eyes widened. How did he know all this about her? What was the deal? She reluctantly opened her mouth and said, "How do you know so much about my racing career?"

He smiled as he set his fork down, "Your mom's name is Tracy, your brother's name is Dylan, your father's name is Dave, and your favorite flower is a black magic rose."

Kim let go of her glass and watched as it fell to the table. Her breath was heavy. She couldn't breath. This guy…this random guy…knew everything….Once again, she opened her mouth, "How the hell do you know everything about me!"

He smiled, "I called my aunt for the personal info and I had Jesse run a background check on you throughout your underground career."

Kim sighed with relief. At least he wasn't a stalker. She shook her head and looked up again, "Why would I want to go back to the only place I ever lost?"

"Because it would be my guess that it's more important to beat the driver who beat you then a random guy who holds a track record."

Kim tapped her foot on the ground before stopping and saying, "You're crazy, do you know that?"

"Yes."

"Ok, so why don't we go tonight? At least then he'll be racing."

Nik nodded as he pushed his empty plate aside. Kim smiled as she stood up. Nik followed her as they walked to the register and paid their bill. Kim walked back out to the parking lot and stood by Nik's car.

Nik walked up to the driver's side door and unlocked the car. He clicked the button on the inside which unlocked the passenger side door as well. He sat down as Kim did.

Nik started up the engine and revved it twice before he let it mellow and idle. He looked at Kim, "Do you want to drive?"

Kim's eyes widened. He wanted to let her drive his car? What was his deal? She sighed, "Yeah, sure…"

"Cool." Nik stepped out of the car as Kim did. They exchanged spots and sat down again. Kim revved the engine before placing it in reverse. She backed out of their spot and then accelerated out of the lot. She turned tightly through the lot.

She braked hard as they came to a stop at the exit of the parking lot. She looked over and saw Nik examining her. What was he up to?

* * *

Nik smiled, "You ok." 

Kim nodded and looked back at the road as the light changed to green. She accelerated around the turn and the tires screeched loudly. Nik watched her upshift into third gear. Her timing was good considering it was her first time driving another racers car.

Nik watched as she downshifted to enter a light left. She didn't slow down as much as he would have when driving on a crowded road. Her normal driving style was aggressive like Mei's.

Nik opened his mouth slowly, "I want to see you drift."

Kim looked over, "Right now?"

"Yeah, the on ramp has a hairpin turn. Drift through it."

"I don't want to get a ticket."

Nik's tone became deeper and more serious, "If you get one, I'll pay it. Now drift."

Kim hesitated momentarily before nodding and then centering herself on the road. She turned the wheel slightly right as she entered the on ramp. She accelerated and shifted up to fourth gear as she neared 100 mph.

The on ramp was clear ahead and behind her. Nik's eyes glared down at her feet. He counted in his head, "_Three…two...o._"

She braked lightly and turned into the corner. He saw her left foot slide over the clutch and depress it. His eyes shifted to the shifter. She downshifted into second quickly. He then looked back at her feet. She had heel-toe downshifted.

He saw her ease up on the braking and go to the accelerator pedal more to keep her speed up. He had already felt the back end slide out and it was very close to the edge. She had to keep it tight due to only having a single lane. She countered steered and rode the drift out through the turn before straightening out and depressing the accelerator.

She kept her speed up before slowing down to the normal speed limit. He saw her look up at the rear view mirror and look for any police. All she saw were a few cars. She sighed in relief.

Nik smiled, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Kim looked over, "Not bad? That was an excellent drift. It was perfect the whole way through."

"You broke early."

"No I didn't."

"It was fine for a show drift, but a racing drift needs to remain every bit of speed you can. You lost about 5 extra mph in entry."

"Really?"

"You should pay more attention to your driving."

"I play plenty of attention!"

"Then how did Mei pass you the other night?"

"He had a faster car, plain and simple."

"But he took the corner the same way you did, right?"

"Yeah, we both powered through."

"So how could he be faster if you did everything the same way?"

"Better acceleration?"

"Mei's car only has 300 hp. Your 911 has near that, doesn't it?"

Kim sighed, "Then what the hell was it?"

"His exit speed."

"But we entered the turn at the same time, how could I have lost more speed."

"He entered the corner slower. You rapidly decelerated. Mei steadily accelerated. You see?"

"Oh… that makes sense…but that also means that you only won because you knew the course."

"Maybe, but then again, maybe we won because we knew what we were doing."

"I'm getting the odd feeling like your insulting me."

"I'm not insulting you at all. Your technique is excellent. I'm just saying your grasp of racing concepts might be lacking."

"So, in other words, I don't know what the hell I'm doing."

"I didn't say that."

"No, you strongly implied it."

"Are you trying to start an argument with me?"

"Maybe."

Nik smirked, "Maybe?"

Kim returned his smirk, "Yeah, maybe."

Nik smiled as his eyes went back to the highway. Kim pulled off the highway and took a light left. She was heading towards her house. She accelerated around a 90 degree right and drove up the road until she reached the blue house. She depressed the brake pedal and turned into the driveway.

* * *

Kim looked at the boy who sat in the passenger seat of his own car. He opened the door and stepped out of his car. She smiled and did the same after taking the keys out of the ignition. 

She walked in front of the car and put the keys in front of his face. When he grabbed for them, she whipped them back teasingly. She put them in front of him again before whipping them back when he snatched for them.

Nik smirked, "What the hell?"

Kim sighed and lightened her tone as to seem more innocent, "What do you mean?"

"I want my keys."

She smiled in a seductive manner before dangling his keys in front of him again, "Then come and get them."

Nik lunged at her and barley missed her wrist. She turned her body and Nik caught her off guard. He pushed her down and slid his body on top of his hers on the hood of his 240.

Kim became short of breath. She could feel the weight of his body on top of hers. Her eyes had widened. Nik placed his hand on the carbon fiber hood and pushed his body up. Kim slid down and stood up in front of him.

She straightened herself out in time to here him say, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

She nodded, "I know, you were just going for your keys. Here." She put her hand out and Nik took the keys from her. He smiled and said, "Thank you."

Kim's eyes locked onto Nik's. She stared into them as he returned her stare. Suddenly she heard her ring tone begin to play. She sighed and unzipped her purse. She pulled out the small silver phone and flipped it open as she brought the phone to her mouth.

"Hello?"

"Kim, its Jess. You interested in who Tom's racing tonight?"

"He's racing tonight?"

"Yeah, he's going after Kevin from the Torringford run."

"I was actually planning on checking out his team on the Bakersville run tonight. I didn't know he had a race."

"Yeah, do you want me and the rest of the team to come up?"

Kim sighed as she leaned against the side of her house, "No, this is personal business. I'd rather go up myself."

"Ok, I was just asking 'cause I know about the history you have with Tom. You sure you'll be ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll call you back later with a practice schedule for the team."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

Kim brought the phone away from her ear and shut it. She looked back at Nik as he asked, "What was that about?"

Kim sighed, "That guy from the Bakersville touge, the one I lost to. He has a race against Kevin from the Red Metal team on the Torringford run."

Nik looked up at the sky, "At least he kept the black part…"

"What?"

"Nothing, I just used to race with him."

Her eye's widened, "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope, me, Mei, and Kevin used to be the three Blak Nites."

"Holy crap. Well… that explains why he was one of my toughest opponents."

"You raced him?"

"Yeah." She smiled happily as her voiced lightened up so she sounded sweeter, "And I beat him too."

Nik gave her an impressed whistle, "Wow, Kevin must have really let himself go."

"Hey!"

Nik smiled, "So I'll see you at 9:30?"

"What?"

"I told you that I'd be going with you to watch this guy."

"Oh… I didn't know if you would still want to do that."

"Of course I would. Why wouldn't I want to be in the company of a beautiful girl?"

"I'm not beautiful."

"Yes you are."

She turned her body away from him, "No, I'm not."

"Who told you that?"

"I did."

She heard him smile sweetly, "I think you need a new mirror in that case."

She turned around to face him, "What are you?"

"A man the last time I checked."

"You're just so hard to get."

"I'm I hard to get? Or am I so easy to get that your intelligence level slides right over me?"

"You're calling me stupid again."

"No, I'm calling you really smart."

Kim smiled and dropped her head to avoid looking at his hazel eyes. She didn't want to admit it, mostly because she knew how guys had treated her in the past, but she **REALLY** liked him.

Then she remembered the other half of why she couldn't like him. Her eyes fell on Nik's hand. He was tapping his finger against the hood of the car. She smiled. It was working. She had just been…. She hadn't noticed. She looked up at him and spoke in her sweet tone again, "Are you ok?"

* * *

Nik nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, why?" 

She stepped up close to him and pressed her body against his. Nik's body tensed up. She looked into his eyes, "Are you sure? You feel tense." She slid her hands up his chest and around the back of his neck.

Nik's body relaxed when Kim began to massage his neck lightly. He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her into him. Their eyes locked as they stared at each other.

Kim brought her lips up towards Nik face. Nik brought his lips towards her as well. Their faces closed into the others. Their lips sat a single centimeter away from the others. Kim was short of breath. Nik's grip on her waist was tight.

Nik had stopped thinking. He was acting on pure attraction. He knew he had wanted to do it. He also knew that he felt strongly for her. He liked her ten times more then he had originally liked Maka.

He watched as her eyes slowly closed and her lips sat, waiting for him. He couldn't resist it. She was there. She was just waiting for him. He brought his face closer to hers and closed the gap between their lips...

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I had to deal with being grounded and I'm searching for a car. The perfect car. The car that I must have! I want an FC ;; The accord just ain't cutting it anymore. 

Also, I want to deeply and completely thank my GF whose pen name on the site is Twisted Lizard. She's my muse. I'm pretty sure that the only reason my stories are relatively good is because she's letting me dissect her female mind for info. With out her, I'd be lost. I just wanted to publicly and globally thank her for all her help.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who put up the read and reviewed my story. I really appreciate it. I'd also like to thank everyone who read my original Blak Nites story. I never actually did that.

I'll try to get another chapter up soon. I don't know if I'll get grounded again, but knowing my luck, it'll probably be another month till you see chapter 7. So until then, Gohan Gaitei wo doko desu ka?


	7. The Plan

Nik pulled up to the front of Kim's house at 9:00 that night. He turned off the engine and leaned back in the black and blue Momo racing seat. He thought back to that afternoon…

Her lips were soft and light. Her body felt warm. She had been so close to him. He had loved that kiss. But his mind kept asking himself the same question over and over. Should he have done it?

He wasn't sure if she had thought he jumped on her. He left a minute after she walked in her house and he returned to his non-dazed state. Then after a 3 hour's of drifting he had returned to his normal state of mind. Then he started to think and that's always a bad thing.

Nik looked over when he heard someone knocking on his window. It was her. Nik rolled down his window and looked at her, "Hey, do you want to take two cars or just one?"

Kim said, "Let's take two. I want the guy from Bakersville to know I'm there."

Nik nodded and watched her walk away. He sighed and put his eyes back on the road. He wet his lips as he leaned back again. They still tasted like watermelon…

* * *

Kim slid into her black and red Sparco bucket racing seat. She pulled the restrains over her shoulders and then connected them at her waist. She put her left hand on the wheel and put the keys into the ignition with her right. 

She stopped for a moment and thought back to the afternoon. She couldn't realize if she had done the right thing by kissing him. It didn't feel wrong, but it hadn't felt right either.

She turned the ignition and looked in her rearview mirror. He was cute… And he seemed nice... And he was a good kisser… But she couldn't get over the fact that she wanted to make him eat her dust.

She put the car in reverse as she pulled out of her driveway. She then put the car into first gear and drove along the road ahead of Nik. She took a light left and headed on to the highway.

Nik was still a mystery to her. He wasn't the kinda guy she was used to, which made getting inside of his head more difficult then it should have been. She sighed as she turned off the highway. She glazed in her rearview mirror for a second. He was still there.

She drove along the main strip for about a minute or two before lightly shifting the car right and heading towards the starting line. She turned into the parking lot where most of the cars sat and saw the Tom along with Black Metals top driver, Kevin.

She saw the eyes of a lot of drivers following her. She smiled at the recognition. She then parked close to the two racers. She stepped out of her car and looked over at him in disgust. She hated him…

* * *

Nik stopped next to her and stepped out of his own car. He looked over at the guy from Bakersville. His car was what intrigued him. It explained everything about his driving style. How he could have conquered the Bakersville touge. It made everything so simple. 

"I don't fucking believe it."

Nik looked over his shoulder at Kevin. He smiled, "What's up?"

"I can't believe you didn't drive yourself off of one of those mountains."

"What can I say, I rock."

"So what are you doing here?"

Nik pointed to Kim. Kevin nodded and then shook his head while grinning, "Back for not even a week and your already pimping…"

Nik sighed, "I ran into her the other night on the lake."

"How'd you do?"

"Tied."

"Wow…She's gotten better…"

"Hmm?"

"She beat me on this run just barley. The lake is a lot curvier, meaning her cornering technique has improved."

"Are you interested in running against her again?"

"No thanks, I was beat, I don't want to be humiliated."

Kevin's eye's shifted over to the 240SX. He smiled, "You still have the balls to drive this old piece of shit?"

"What are you running now?"

He pointed behind him at a black car, "My supra. I pushed it to around 300 hp and I doesn't have a turbo. No lag, I like it that way."

He looked down the car, "Yeah, I remember you never put a turbo in your old MR2 either. You N/A bastard…"

"Yeah, but I have no idea how I plan to take down that Stealth…"

Nik nodded, "Agreed. My guess is that he's running the 4WD turbo model. It would explain how he got so good at the Bakersville touge."

Kevin sighed and whispered, "Here come the physics…"

"The Bakersville touge is pretty much nothing but a continuous S-curve. A normal FR car would spinout during the tighter sections if he didn't slow down to compensate. In FF would understeer greatly, but that would only mean that the car wouldn't turn. A 4WD could keep up high speeds and turn excellently if handled correctly. He could master that run in two months, tops."

"Yeah… that helps me how?"

"I don't know. The curves here are relatively light until the end of the course. I've never seen him handle turns before. It's up in the air at the moment."

"That's all the advice you have to give me?"

"Yup. See you at the finish line."

"Thanks a lot asshole..."

Nik looked over at Kim. Well, Kim was there. She now had walked over by the guy from Bakersville. Nik was about to walk over when Kevin said, "Do you know about them?"

"What about them?"

"Tom is Kim's ex. They went out a few years back. He taught Kim the basics of drift racing. He used to race a Chevy Camaro but he traded to the Stealth in '96. Kim started out with a BMW M3, an older model. They used to run together."

"Really?"

"Yeah, well, legend has it that they had some relationship problems. Kim wanted to get out, she felt like Tom was holding her back. They raced, Kim lost, so they stayed together for another couple of months before Kim caught Tom cheating on her with one of her friends. At least that's what I heard."

"Ahuh..."

He looked over at Tom. Kim looked serious. He wondered about what their real past was. Only two people honestly knew. He only knew one of those two. The one he had kissed... (BTW, He has not and never will kiss Tom (I'm not into that kinda thing...anymore...No comment...)

* * *

Kim sighed as she looked up at him, "I want that rematch."

"And I want you back, but you don't see that happening, do you?"

"Tom, get it through your 7 foot thick skull. I'm not getting back together with you."

"Wasn't it good for you?"

"Nothing about you is good." She turned and walked away from him and looked up to see Nik walking towards her. She could hear whispers coming from everywhere. One she heard clearly was "Is Willow's Red Rose and the Highland 240 going out?"

She sighed as she stopped in front of him. She looked up at him, "You ok?"

"I should be asking you. You're the one who just went to talk to your ex."

Kim stopped, "How did you know that he was my ex?"

"Kevin told me."

"Oh...well, there's nothing between us anymore except for tension."

"Sexual?"

"I never had sex with him. By the looks of 'things', he wouldn't have been much good anyway."

Nik smiled and Kim returned his smile. She asked, "I don't know this run that well. Do you know a good vantage point?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, get in."

Kim walked over to her car and locked it before walking over to Nik's car and sliding into the passenger seat. She watched as the two car's pulled up to the starting line before looking at Nik and saying, "We better hurry before they start."

Nik looked ahead at the line, "Were already in the best seat in the house."

Kim looked at Nik as the race started. She then felt the car she sat in shoot forward out of the parking lot. She felt the rear end kick out as they turned out of the lot and followed the two lead drivers. She was watching this race in a chaser seat...

* * *

Nik followed them out of the first curve, sliding a lot. He wasn't watching for baby mistakes. He was trying to pay more attention to there downhill run. He followed them both into the steep downhill section where speed was imminent.

The steep downhill was followed by the first curve. It was a double turn set. The first curve was light, but the second was sharp. Kevin began a very effective feint drift after exiting the first turn. Tom powered through the first turn utilizing and out-in-out strategy. He then kicked out his back end and held down the accelerator his car stayed tight to the inside before exiting.

He noticed Tom let up on the accelerator as he came out. Kevin regained a lead but then Tom went back onto the accelerator and held his car tight to his tail. A long straight was ahead before the second turn set.

All three approached the start of the second turn set. It involved long slide drift followed by a feint drift for maximum effectiveness. He watched Tom's entrance to the turn. He accelerated and lost no grip upon entry. Kevin started a long slide drift and Nik only heard the engine down gear twice. He was keeping up his speed.

As the second turn neared, Tom swung his backend out and pushed Kevin back as he downshifted. He accelerated and powered out of the turn as Kevin finished it and began his steady acceleration towards the next turn.

Kim looked over at Nik and asked, "Who do you think will win?"

Nik answered, "Tom has the lead."

"That's not what I asked you."

"I can't answer that question. It all depends on Kevin's mastery of the course..."

* * *

Kim's eyes gently shifted her eyes back to the road. He didn't seem especially confident in his friend's technique. On the other hand though, Kevin may have improved since Nik last saw him race and he had never seen Tom race before.

She looked ahead as they passed the half way mark of the course. They then entered a medium left curve. It was followed by a medium right. Both car's powered through it and then went on towards the last leg of the course.

This part of the course was hard to maneuver because the road got narrower and curvier. They drifted into the first turn and then used the force gained from the turn to shoot them around for the second turn. Kevin gained about two feet on Tom but Tom remained calm.

No more then 20 seconds later they came to the long left curve. Kevin began a drift while Tom once again went to an out-in-out technique. Tom let up on his gas and Kevin slid ahead of him. They exited that turn and immediately had to handle another set of 90 degree curves.

Kevin went out and then inside before drifting out of the second, sending his car far to the outside. Tom followed Kevin's line through the first turn and then went inside and held a tight line as he used pure grip to come out of the turn ahead of Kevin and block him.

They both slid around the next curve and Tom gained half a car length on Kevin. He then powered along the quarter mile stretch to take the win at the line. Kevin finished off 1.5 seconds behind him.

Kim sighed, "Fuck..."

Nik looked over at her as she swore, "What's wrong?"

"His ego grows with every win..."

Nik pulled up next to them and saw Kevin and Tom exit their cars. Nik got out as Kim did. Nik walked over to Kevin and smiled, "You've gotten a lot better since I've been gone, racing at full speed down a mountain with a car with 300 hp. You were freaked out of your mind driving on the lake with only 200."

Kevin nodded, "I still can't believe I lost..."

Nik sighed, "He had 4WD plus 20 more horsepower then you."

Kevin looked at him angered, "What happened to 'it's not the car, it's the driver'?"

Nik looked down at him, "Ok, you didn't hold a tight enough line and you slid like crazy. You left him a lot of openings to pass and I saw him hold back and let you keep the lead at least twice."

Kevin sighed, "Asshole..."

Nik smiled before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Tom standing in front of him next to Kim. Nik didn't know why, but seeing Kim next to him made him want to beat his face in.

Nik smiled at him, "Congratulations."

He returned the smile, "Thank you. It's nice to meet a living legend."

Nik sighed, "I'm a legend, wow."

Kim looked up at Tom, "Why couldn't you have been modest like him?"

Tom looked over at her with a glare but then looked back at Nik, "So, I was wondering if you might want to race sometime?"

Kim looked over at Nik, "Hold on a sec, you have to race me first."

"Don't waste your time with her, she's a worthless racer."

"Me? You're the one who drives a 4WD just so you don't slide off the road."

"I drive 4WD for the overall traction and even with 4WD, I can still drift better then you."

Nik sighed as the they continued to argue. This was turning out to be a quite interesting night. He looked at both of them, "May I offer a solution?"

They both looked at him quickly, "What?"

"Why don't you two race each other, then I'll race the winner on the lake run."

* * *

Kim couldn't deny the fact that she wanted to race him and she also wanted revenge on Tom for taking her down years ago. This really seemed like a win/win situation. This made her suspicious.

Kim looked up at him, "So what do we get if we win? The satisfaction of beating the best?"

Nik nodded, "That, plus my title as the fastest on Highland."

Kim smiled but then stopped smiling. Something else was confusing her..., "So does that mean that you're retiring from racing?"

Nik shook his head, "No, it's just... I had this plan..."

Tom looked up, "Yeah...?"

Nik shook his head again, "Forget it. Name a time and a place where you two will race."

Kim looked at Tom, "We can't race on Willow's hill or on the Bakersville touge. I refuse to have or let you have home course advantage."

Tom nodded, "Considering I need the practice to go up against the 240, I say we run on highland."

Kim scowled at him but agreed. Tom smiled and said good bye before shooting off in his Stealth. Nik got back into his car and Kim followed him. They began driving back up the mountain in an attempt to find Kim's car.

Kim was wondering about something and she couldn't keep her mouth shut about it, "What was your plan?"

Nik continued to stare at the road, "What plan?"

"Back there, you said you had a plan. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Oh, it's just a stupid idealistic thought."

"Tell me."

"No."

Kim exposed her lower lip and pouted, "Please Nik...?"

Nik sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you."

Kim smiled and waited. Nik said, "Back when I first decided to move to Japan, I had a plan that was never carried out to its full potential. I wanted to go and race against the best I could find and whoever beat me would have my title so I could leave America with nothing weighing me down."

Kim nodded and smirked, "Let me guess... No one beat you?"

Nik nodded, "Racers weren't like they are now back then. The drifting scene was new to everyone and it still is."

Kim nodded, "Mostly."

"Well, the time came around and I left America while still retaining the title of the Highland 240. Ever since then it's always put pressure on me to retain my title but I never really saw anyone as a challenge anymore."

"Now you're insulting me."

Nik sighed, "I don't mean to. It's just... ever since I went to Japan; I've been getting more and more connected with driving my FC. Yet I can't stop thinking that this is my car because of my title. Honestly, all I want to do is give it up but I won't give my title to some good for nothing driver like Jesse."

"So, you want to just give up everything you have, everything you've worked for?"

"I'd rather just leave my old career and start over. Being able to drift around a few turns on a lake is nothing compared to the types of racing done on the mountain passes. It doesn't mean shit to anyone in a different country."

"How can you give up your roots though?"

Nik slammed on his brakes as the car came to a stop on the uphill stretch. He yanked up the E-brake and stepped out of the car. Kim stepped out as well and walked over to him, "What the hell is your problem!"

He looked over at Kim with heavy eyes, "Look. There are things here I would just rather forget about, ok?"

Kim looked over at him angered, "Will you just shut up and get over yourself! This is your home; you can't run away for ever."

"I can sure as hell fucking try!"

"You're such an asshole!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

And he did. He pulled her body to his and firmly clamped her lips shut with his own. Kim slowly shut her eyes and felt her entire body melt in his arms. He wasn't holding her tightly but just tight enough.

Kim fell into Nik and brought her hands up to his shoulder. They continually separated their lips for less then a second before bringing them back to the others again.

Kim loved this almost too much. She could sense that Nik was enjoying it too. Was it just her being paranoid or was she really sensing what he felt? Did he really like kissing her?

* * *

Nik did. Her lips were soft, full, and they still tasted like watermelon. Her body felt warm against his and her skin was soft. He gently pulled away from her and looked into her lustful green eyes.

Nik opened his mouth slowly, still savoring the smell and taste of watermelon, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

Kim eyes looked up at him with the same glare they had earlier today, "Then why did you do it... twice?"

Nik shook his head, "I don't know, something just came over me and there I was, pulling you to me and kissing you."

Kim looked up at him and sighed, "Nik, I'd appreciate it if you could try to keep your lips to yourself around me."

Nik looked up almost saddened, "Why?"

Kim looked over, her eyes calling him an idiot, "We're rival racers. I can't be making out with a guy I have to beat."

Nik sighed, "I don't have to be your rival you know..."

Kim looked up, "I'm sorry, but I either have allies or rivals."

Nik looked up, "Then why don't you let me be your ally?"

Kim sighed, "How?"

Nik stood and thought for a moment, "I can show you how to beat Tom."

Kim sighed, "I can beat him on my own."

"Kim, if he gets the lead on you from the start, you wont be able to pass him, his car is too wide and his drift is too fast because of the 4WD."

"Thanks for the confidence."

"Look, I'm considering if I can beat him or you. If you let me teach you, I'm sure that I can show how to beat Tom, and from that, you can beat me."

Kim stepped back, stunned, "What would make you want to so that!"

"It's not the race I really care about, I just...like being around you...I fell this way when I'm around... I like it."

"Are you gonna just sit there and start telling me how much you love me or something?"

"What if I did?"

* * *

Kim stopped. Did he just say what she thought he said? Was he about to start telling him how much he loved her? Did he love her? Why where these questions running through her head?

Kim shook it off, "Well we both know you're not going to, but I would appreciate the help."

Kim honestly didn't want his help. She was convinced that she could beat Tom and Nik by herself. Unfortunately she wanted to explore this "What if I did?" scenario.

Nik nodded with a smile. He was apparently very happy about this. It was apparent that he did like her, but love her? She didn't especially think it was possible for a guy she met less then a week ago to be in love with her.

She sat in the 240 quietly until they got to the parking lot. She slid into the bucket seat of her 911 and watched the 240 drive away. An odd emotion came over her when she saw him drive away. She was sad.

Kim drove him with the radio on a local station. The music was low while she thought about the possibility that he did love her. Love. Four letters. Four extremely meaningful letters that made up a word that showed the deepest emotion in the entire world.

Love...

* * *

Sorry for the wait. I told you that it would take a while. I've been having writers block for a while because I didn't really have the story set up in a direction I liked. That's why I'm really glad I wrote this chapter. It helped me set up the rest of A BN X-mas. I should spewing out chapters as fast as I did with the original BN story. Thanks for reading. Sayonara. 


	8. A Little Rough

Kim sat around the next day in a daze. She felt like her mind was playing tricks on her. This guy had said he might love her. She had never really loved anyone who wasn't a family member before. But this guy said he might love her.

He didn't actually say it, but he implied it, right? I mean she asked, _"Are you gonna just sit there and start telling me how much you love me or something?"_ and he replied, _"What if I did?"_

That had to be an implication. She didn't know, but she sat in her room. She sat and thought about him. She felt immature, like a little school girl who had a crush on a rock star.

Her silence was broken by her cell phone going off. She sighed and picked up the phone. She brought to her ear and said, "Jess, so help me god, if you don't stop calling me..."

"It's not Jess."

Her heart skipped a beat. She calmed her tone down, "Oh...hi...

Nik smiled, "Hi. If this is a bad time, I can call back later."

Kim said, "No, no. It's fine. What's up?"

He said, "Well, I was figuring we should start training tonight. The more we get in the better."

Kim agreed, "Yeah, so what time do you want me to meet you at the lake?"

Nik shook his head, "We don't have to meet at the lake if you don't want to."

Kim was surprised, "Then how are we gonna practice?"

"You'll see. Why don't I come over to your house?"

Kim stopped. Him. Here, "When?"

"In about an hour?"

Kim didn't want him to come here. She didn't even want to be around him. She knew exactly what to say, "Yeah, I'll see you in a bit."

She heard his tone become happy, "Ok, bye."

She heard the phone click and felt her hands fall to her sides. He was going to be at her house in 59 minutes. She didn't know why she cared, but she did and it was freaking her out.

She walked over to her closet and dug through everything to find something she looked good in. She didn't know why it mattered. He was just a guy...

* * *

Nikreached into his bag and grabbed a plain black hoodie. He then grabbed the keys to his 240SX and a blue back pack before he walked downstairs into a discussion he had wanted to stay out of.

Al looked at him with the word 'HELP' bleeding out of his eyes. He sighed and looked at his parents, "What's up?"

His dad looked up at him, "Did you know that Alex wanted to go back to Japan with you?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah."

His mother disapprovingly said, "I don't want him going back. He's only 17 years old."

Al looked at his mom, "Ma, I'm gonna be eighteen in a few months. Then I'll be able to make my own decisions."

His Mom glared at him, "Then in a few months, you can go live with your brother."

Nik looked at Al, "Did you show them the report card?"

Al nodded. Nik looked at his Dad, the calmer of his two parents, "Well?"

"His grades are good, very good. I won't deny that his grades have improved. Also, no unexcused absences, meaning no skipping class."

"That's probably because of Miki."

Both of his parents looked at Nik, "Miki?"

Nik looked at Alex, "You didn't tell them?"

Alex sunk into his chair, "No..."

Nik sighed, "You better explain that to them. I'll be back."

His mom looked at him, "Where are you going?"

He looked over at her from the door, "Out."

His bro looked over, "That girl?"

Nik nodded. His mom approved and then went back to listening to Alex's story. Nik walked out to his 240 and slid into the seat. He started the car and revved the engine twice.

He backed out of the driveway and headed down the hill. He turned onto the main road and followed it all the way to the highway before getting on and heading towards Kim's house.

He had wondered about how she felt about him. She didn't seem to let on anything. She seemed sort of bottled up. He just couldn't get under her skin. AT least that's how he felt.

He turned off the highway and drove towards her house. There was an assortment of small curves that led to her house. Unfortunately, he didn't have to go that fast. He took a slight right turn and drove into her driveway. He saw the Porsche parked on the side of the road.

Nik got out of his 240 with the bag and locked it. He walked up to the door and knocked once. The women, who looked over at him from yesterday, who looked only to be in her late thirties up close, answered the door. She asked, "Can I help you?"

"Um, does Kim live here?"

"Yes and what business is this of yours?"

"Kim talked to me a little while ago and we agreed I'd come over to see her."

She looked behind him at the car. She stared it down before looking back at him, "You can wait in the kitchen. I'll go get her."

Nik walked in and took a seat at their kitchen table. He looked around the kitchen reflexively. It was pretty clean but it didn't have anything that really accented it. It was a very typical kitchen.

He sat and waited as he heard footsteps go up the stairs. He reached into his bag and pulled out a poster size piece of paper and a pencil. He tapped the pencil against the table as he waited.

* * *

Kim heard a light knock on her door. She said, "Its open!" from her bathroom where she stood tying her hair back. She heard footsteps walk across her carpeted floor until they reached the edge of her bathroom door.

After her hair was secure, she looked over at her mother, "Yes?"

"I thought I asked you to stop dating street racers?"

"And I did."

"What about your last four boyfriends!"

"Dan raced stock cars on tracks, TJ drag raced legally, Evan was just a fling, and Jason raced motorcycles."

"You keep running into guys who have no future. One of them is sitting in our kitchen right now waiting for you."

She stopped, "How do I look?"

"What does it matter?"

"How do I look!"

"You look fine, ok? Now back to these boys..."

"We'll talk about it later." Kim walked past her mother and out the door. She pulled her shirt down as she turned off the stairs and walked through her living room, into her kitchen where Nik sat, still tapping a pencil. She sat down and felt Nik's eyes follow her.

She met with his eyes, "What?"

"Nothing, you just look...wow..."

"Yeah, anyway, how are we supposed to practice without driving?"

Nik unfolded the piece of paper, which turned out to be a map of the lake. Kim looked at him and said, "How the hell is this supposed to me beat Tom?"

Nik smiled, "You have to know the course in order to use it correctly."

"I've driven the course. I know the turns."

"Yeah, but you don't know the specifics."

"Fine then, teach me."

"I'm trying to."

Kim sighed, "I've done this already."

"You have?"

Kim stood up, "Follow me."

Nik stood up and followed Kim into there living room where there was a computer sitting. Nik pulled a chair from a small table in the corner of the room next to the computer seat where Kim was now sitting.

Kim heard footsteps come down the stairs. She looked over into the eyes of her mother. She said, "I've got to go out for a while, if you're brother doesn't call by eight, call me. Behave yourself, both of you."

Kim watched her mother eyes Nik as she walked through the kitchen, towards the door. She saw him shake it off as she pressed the power button on the front of the computer.

Kim turned on the computer and then logged on. She opened up a program that was labeled 'Course driver'. Nik looked over at her, "What's this?"

Kim smiled, "This is a program a friend of mine made for me. She designed it so that I could upload maps from the internet onto the program and then use it to map out the road exactly. I then study the course before I even drive on it. That way I have a basic idea of what to expect."

She could tell Nik was impressed by the look on his face. He said, "This is real Ry Takahashi shit."

"Who?"

"Ryosuke Takahashi. He's got a nickname in Japan as Akagi's White Comet. He's the leader of the Akagi Red Suns and the creator of Project D, which is a..."

"..Group of mountain racers from all around the Gunma area who race the best teams who challenge them. I read about them in Hot Version."

"You can read Japanese?"

"Hai. I learned it when I was bored one summer."

"Wow..."

"You say that a lot. Found it."

Nik looked at the computer screen as a map of the Highland run popped up. It covered not only the road, but also the elevation above the water each curve was. This map was perfect.

He looked at her, "Zoom in on the area where I passed Mei the other night."

With only one click and a drag, she had zoomed in on the drop turn. The elevation chart showed that it was the lowest point on the entire lake road. He said, "This is a really wide point on the course. It's a good opportunity to take the lead on your opponent."

"After you're race last night, I'd say it's the best place."

"There are better ones, but this one is really good. Now zoom in on the double S-turn."

Kim quickly zoomed out and then zoomed back in on the next part of the course. She looked at Nik, "So?"

"Tom will accelerate very well at this part of the course, put he might slow down a little on the second turn because of the downhill fall."

Kim nodded, "What next?"

"Zoom in on the final part of the course."

Kim quickly did. Nik stood up and placed his left hand on her left shoulder. Kim paused for a moment, not sure what Nik was doing. He reached his other arm passed her head and pointed at a spot on the screen.

"This V shaped turn will be your last opportunity to pass. His excessive braking will be the key. It also matters on whether or not his car drives more like an FF or an FR."

Kim sighed in relief, "Ok..."

Kim didn't know why, but she had an odd urge to ask him questions. She wanted to know more about him. She leaned her head back, looking into his deep hazel eyes, "What's Japan like?"

Nik seemed startled. He answered, "Depends on the season and where you are. Driving along Myogi in the autumn is amazing. The trees are stunning and the mountain is majestic. Akina is a great place to watch the leaves too. In the spring, the Shimonita side of Mt. Myogi has a great view of the cherry blossom trees. The swamplands on Mt. Shifitsu are beautiful as well. In the summer, the best mountain to drive is Akagi. The shade makes you feel cool while you look upon the beautiful foliage. In the winter, if you're willing to take the drive, you can find the most Majestic hot springs. You can look upon the snow covered world in complete and total seclusion."

"The hot springs sound nice. I hate people seeing me in my bathing suit."

"Afraid to show of your amazing body?"

"No, I'm afraid to show off my ugly body."

* * *

Nik sighed, "I don't see an ugly body anywhere. Is it upstairs in your closet?"

Kim smiled, "It's nice of you to try and make me feel better, but I know I'm ugly. You don't have to sugar coat it."

"I'm not, I think you're gorgeous."

"My ass is ugly, my face is too hideous to look at, my body is full of fat, and my boobs are too big."

"To correct you, in order of course, your ass is fine, I love looking at your face, I don't see an ounce of fat on you, and there's no such thing as too big."

"Thank you."

"For...?"

"Admitting to checking me out."

"I can't help it, you're just so danm hot."

"You use a lot of lines."

"All of which are true."

"Your lines are at least decent."

"Well, 'nice shoes, wanna fuck?' didn't seem like a good way to get a girl to like you."

Kim laughed, "Apparently."

"You should do that more often."

"What?"

"Laugh."

"I try, but it seems lately you're the only person who makes me laugh."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I just wish that life could be as fun as it is as when I'm with yo..."

"Yeah, hehe..."

A long uncomfortable silence followed that. Nik looked down at Kim. He locked his eyes with hers, which up until know he hadn't noticed her staring at. Kim put her hand up with a finger out. She flexed it as she smiled and said, "Come here."

Nik lowered his head hesitantly. He wasn't sure what she was planning on doing. She felt her hand gently glide along the base of his neck, sliding up his collarbone before sliding to the back of his neck. His eyes stayed locked as he stopped, allowing his head to hover less than 6 inches above hers.

She spoke softly, "I'm going to say this in a way you'll understand. So, Kisu-ware." (Sorry if this is written wrong.)

Nik brought his lips to hers, locking them while letting his eyes gently shut as he saw hers do. She felt her hand pressing his head into hers, pressing their lips together. He could barley help smiling.

* * *

Kim's urges had maddened her to this point. To the point where she kissed him. She had thought that being with him made her happy, but the feeling of his lips against hers. The feeling of his soul connecting with hers. This was something different. Something better..

Kim separated their lips, not saying a word. She stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing him back into a wall. Her breathing was heavy, nearly heavy enough to much his.

She kissed him, vigorously. She felt wild and untamable, taken over by some unexplained force. She started to think about how Nik was reacting. She didn't know how he was going to react to this. She pulled away from him.

She looked into his eyes as she pushed her hair out of her face, "I'm sorry if I was being to rough for you..."

Nik turned her body quickly, forcing her body into a wall. He looked deep into her eyes as he smirked, "Apparently not rough enough."

Kim smirked as Nik brought his lips to hers. She felt his tongue begin to massage her own she was enjoying this ad she didn't care. For once, she didn't care that a guy was the one being aggressive. She kinda liked being the one on the bottom...

She twisted once more, only to have Nik twist again, sending them through the opening into her empty kitchen. Kim was thrust into the table. Nik kept pressing himself into her, using the table to keep her from getting away.

She never wanted this to end. She loved it. This huge fit of passion was amazing. She just wanted to keep it up. She couldn't let go of him and he didn't let go of her. She thought she might even lo...

"Excuse me."

Kim's eyes shifted over towards the young man who stood in her kitchen. She felt Nik's grip loosen slightly and she took the opportunity to pull herself away from him, although reluctant. In the process, she sent the table flying five feet across the room.

She saw Nik slightly loose his balance. She giggled under her breath before looking over at the door, "Hey D, you're home early."

Her brother looked at Nik, "Yeah... did I interrupting something?"

Nik shook his head, "Not at all." He walked over to him and put his hand out, "My names Nik."

"Dylan. Pardon me for not shaking your hand, but I'm afraid about where it's been on my sister."

Kim looked at him, "Hey, promise not to tell mom."

Dylan turned and walked towards the stairs, "I'll think about it."

"Ten bucks?"

He yelled from the stairs, "Make it twenty and you've got a deal!"

Kim reached through her pockets for her money but then she saw a green piece of paper in front of her face. She then heard Nik's voice, "It's on me."

"No, it's cool, I got the money."

"I kissed you first."

"After I told you to."

"Just take the money."

"Make me." Nik refolded the money between his fingers and dropped it into her low-cut tank top. He then grabbed his keys off the table, "I'm not going to get it."

She watched as he walked around the table and picked up his bag. She smirked, "Pity."

* * *

Nik walk towards the door with a smile. She smiled and followed him out to his car. She asked, "So when is the next practice session?"

Nik unlocked the driver's side door to his car and opened it, "Tomorrow night, 8:00, at the starting line. I want to see how hardkore you can get behind the wheel of a car."

Nik slid into the car and started it. He heard her say, "Most guys wanna see how hardkore I can get in the backseat."

Nik smirked as he put the car in reverse, "What did I tell you when we first met?"

"Your name?"

"Yeah and something else too."

"What?"

"I'm not most guys." With that, Nik backed out of the driveway and started his way down the short stretch of pavement before the first turn. He took it slowly and smiled. He had a feeling that he had left an impression with her. Nik licked his lips and smiled, "Watermelon..."

* * *

Kim walked to the edge of her driveway and watched him drive away. She had forgotten he told her that, but not that he wasn't. It's impossible to forget that Nik Hogashinu wasn't 'most guys'.

She stood there for about five minutes before walking back inside. She fixed the dinner table before walking upstairs into her bedroom. She fell down onto her bed, smiling at the ceiling. She felt like a school girl, with a school girl crush. But Nik probably though she was a naughty girl...

She smirked as she sat up and looked at her cell phone. She picked it up and flipped it open. One voicemail. She dialed it and put it up to her ear. It ringed twice before the machine came up and she pressed 7.

The message began after the introduction. The voice was very familiar. She smiled as he said, _"I was just driving away and I wanted to call you to tell you something. I know you might not feel the same way about me, and I'm ok with that, but I just wanted to tell you to say that I really like you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow night, but I guess I have to. Well that's it, I'll see you then."_

She smiled as she hung up the phone. She brought a finger to her shiny, watermelon lips. She wanted to see him too. She looked at herself in her mirror. She asked herself, "How naughty do you want to be...?"

* * *

For the 2 of you that might not know from all my clues, I think Kisu-ware means "kiss me" in Japanese. Thanks for waiting for another chapter, I'm hoping to get the next one up and ready soon. Unfortunately, times like right now (1:30 am) are the only times I ever have the drive to write. Not to mention I've kinda lost a lot of inspiration. Sorry if my next chapter takes a while to get to ya'll. Peace till then!

_Nik_


	9. A Bit of Fun

Nik sat on the hood of his black Nissan 240SX, his eyes glued to the stars that sat above the lake. He loved it. A clear sky, an almost full moon, and soon enough, engines roaring across the lake.

Speaking of engines, Nik could hear the 911 driving up the road. His eyes shifted to the red car as it parked next to his black one. He watched Kim slowly step out of it. She looked amazing once again.

Kim smiled, "Hey."

Nik nodded, "Good evening, you ready?"

"For?"

"Racing, of course."

"Ya, ya..."

"You sound bored."

"I am."

Nik smirks, "Keep up with me."

"What?"

Nik walks over to his 240SX, "If you can catch me, you can go home. If not, you stay out here with me all night. This is called a cat and mouse race."

Kim looks at him, "Maybe I wanna be with you all night."

Nik sighs, "Stop hitting on me and drive."

Kim smirks, "You've been hitting on me so much, I figured I owed you."

Nik starts his engine and revs it before he pulls up to the starting line. Kim pulls her 911 along side him. Both cars sit on the line before Nik looks over at Kim, still smiling, "Start."

Nik hits the accelerator a second before Kim. Kim follows him off the line and begins to gain on him along the straight. The corner approaches and Nik begins a drift. Kim follows him through the corner but loses ground.

Kim accelerates harder as she catches up to Nik's bumper. They approach the slight uphill and...

"What the fuck?"

Nik slid around and went around the side road, Shoreline drive. Kim kept steady acceleration and wondered why Nik would go out of his way to go slower. Kim ignores it and drifts around the continuous turn set.

Kim exits these turns and accelerates towards the next corner when she notices the headlights in her rearview mirror. They quickly disappear as Nik slides around another side road.

As Kim drifts around a wide left curve, she wondered why Nik was going around all the side roads. Is he just showing off? Is he testing her? Is their actually a method to his madness? The only thing she was sure of at the moment is that he's crazy.

Kim begins to drift the non-stop, always changing S-curves. As she takes these curves, only utilizing half of her skill, she notices a light flickering in her rearview mirrors.

Kim is amazed as she turns onto the straight. He's only three car lengths behind her. She sighs and speeds up as she approaches a light right turn. She takes it at full speed and loses no ground to Nik. She then approaches the drop-down turn.

Kim floors her accelerator and feels the car lift up slightly as she goes down the three hills. She powers around the corner, trying to keep every inch of ground she has between her and Nik.

She comes through the corner strong and shoots herself up onto the straight. Nik is still behind her, but she doesn't have to worry about him catching her on the straight. She has more power then him.

She drifts around a sharp right turn and then accelerates towards the light curve section. She begins to turn her wheel back and forth lightly, attempting not to oversteer and send herself into a drift.

She continued through this section before she came to the final section. She began to drift the 90° right/ 90° left turn combo. She then accelerated down the straight as she noticed Nik had gained one car length.

Kim long-slide drifted around a medium right turn as Nik followed her through the turn. Kim accelerated hard around a very light right turn and then used the built-up momentum to swing herself into a drift around the sharp, V-shaped corner. She then had an uphill acceleration to handle before she slammed her breaks before she reached the start/finish line.

Nik pulled along side her and looked over, "Why'd you stop?"

Kim's eyes met his, "It's over, I won."

"Nope, cat and mouse, remember?"

"But I got ahead of you."

"Exactly you're problem."

Nik hit the accelerator and pulled off the line once again. Kim followed him off. He was pissing her off. She didn't like being toyed with. She drifted behind him in the first turn. She watched as the approached shoreline once again and...

He didn't take it. Instead, he pulled onto the road on the left and drove up. Kim sighed, "What the hell! Why won't you drive straight like a normal person!"

* * *

Nik smiled as he slid around the tight right turn, sending him onto a dirt road. He accelerated and began to drive down a small slant as he saw Kim's 911 drive by on the main road which sat ahead of him.

Nik smiled as he used the turning force combined with the dirt road to sending him into a drift as he exited the corner. Nik flashed his lights at her to show her that he was there.

Kim still hadn't figured out his method. She was a good driver. In front, she didn't feel the pressure of being hunted, but when driving in the rear, she didn't understand how to be the hunter.

Nik had a feeling that hunting down Tom would be the only way that she could force him into insane speeds. Unfortunately, she still had to learn how to be insane. Nik would bet she was very crazy back on Willows Hill.

Nik powered through the S-curve section, gaining distance on Kim, leaving him two car lengths away. Nik accelerated with her on the drop-down turn. Nik sighed, "I need to get closer."

Nik drifted around the sharp right turn and accelerated along the light section. Nik had a lot more oversteer to contend with then Kim did. Nik did his best not to spin out.

Nik accelerated harder and began to follow lines that were tighter then others. Nik had to catch her; he had to get ahead of her. He gritted his teeth as he gripped the first 90° turn and then swung his back end out on the second one.

Nik had realized his hardest opponents in America had been found in the last week or so. The game had upped since he'd left. If American drifters kept getting as good as these guys, there would soon be drivers who rivaled the Takahashi's from America.

Nik watched as Kim slid wide on the V-curve. Nik pulled to the inside and gained a single car length on her. As they passed the Start/finish line, Nik smiled at the blue dodge stealth that sat in the parking lot surrounded by other cars.

Nik accelerated harder and caught up to Kim's bumper before the entrance to the first turn. Nik tandem drifted through the turn and then accelerated behind her. He had to stay focused and get ahead of her.

Nik accelerated hard and once again tandem drifted with Kim around the continuous turn set. He didn't like being this close. He didn't have enough room to do his own thing.

Nik long-slide drifted around the wide left turn and accelerated along side Kim. He came out neck and neck with her. As they entered the S-curve section, he tried to accelerate harder when he was on the inside, but she caught up to him when she was on the inside. They approached the drop-down turn neck and neck.

Nik had the inside advantage. He matched Kim's acceleration as they entered the turn. Nik pulled in tight and kept on his accelerator. He pulled through the turn and got ahead of Kim. He sighed and accelerated hard as he entered the sharp left turn.

* * *

Kim matched his drift as they went around the sharp left turn. There was a smirk on her face. She was happy he had decided to get serious about this race. Now she could have some fun.

The light curve section presented no challenge to her or him. She was mentally preparing for the difficult section up ahead. If he was serious now, he would attack it aggressively. She would have to watch for his weak points.

Kim watched as he accelerated hard around the 90° turn set, swinging his back end out on the second turn. He kept a very tight line. His approached the next turn very fast and long-slide drifted around the next corner.

Kim watched him accelerate way too much to handle the next V-shaped curve. Kim held back and awaited to see how he would handle the turn. He drifted...backwards?

Nik didn't take the correct Highland curve, but he turned the other way and headed towards Main St. Kim powered through the corner and drove behind Nik. He accelerated towards the street and drifted past a green stoplight. Kim made it past yellow.

They accelerated down the main drag of town. Kim's car was able to catch up to him as they accelerated past a police station. Kim then heard sirens. She then heard the tires of the car ahead of her screech to a stop. She also turned her wheel, making a side pin stop. She rolled down her window as Nik did.

She said, "What the hell were you thinking!"

Nik smiled, "I felt like having some fun. Follow my lead."

Kim sighed as Nik turned back towards the police station. Kim followed him as he accelerated towards the oncoming police cars. She gritted her teeth as she saw him power slide around a street corner. She followed him around the corner, watching the flashing lights in her rearview mirror.

Nik power slid around another corner as Kim followed him. She knew that there were more cops out there then there were Nik and Kim's. Nik slid to the left and accelerated down a quick stretch before sliding right.

Kim sighed as they took yet another sharp turn. She hated racing through the streets. She got into touge just so she could stop street racing. She hated running from the cops and here she was.

Nik took another right turn only to find more cops heading towards them. Kim sighed and followed him around a quick left turn. She didn't know where he was going, but she wasn't so sure they were gonna get away.

Nik powered up a wide, uphill corner and then drifted around an uphill/downhill corner. Kim followed him down a patch of road the lead them to an uphill drift turn, followed by a long stretch of road. Kim heard the sound of sirens become fainter.

Nik followed him around a sharp right and then down another small stretch before taking a wide left. She then followed him down a very long stretch of road before taking a left turn and then and immediate right, driving them into a bus lot.

Kim followed Nik into an open space between two busses and parked behind him as they came to a stop. She watched Nik get out of his car and walk over to her passenger seat.

Nik slid into the bucket seat and looked at her, "They should pass by in a couple of minutes."

Kim sighed, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Nik smiled, "I just did what seemed fun to me."

Kim's eyes widened, "Getting chased by cops is fun?"

Nik put a finger on her lips and she instantly froze. Nik said, "Shhh, not so loud."

Kim nodded as Nik's finger parted from her lips. Kim bit her lower lip as Nik reclined in her seat. She unclenched her lip as she looked over at him, "Have you hid out here from cops before?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, a couple of times. The trick is to lose them before getting here."

Kim nodded, "Ok."

A short silence followed that. Kim didn't know what to say to him. He looked so calm and relaxed, just sitting their in her passenger seat. She didn't know why, but she just wanted him so bad at that moment.

Kim spun around in her seat and kneeled on her bucket seat. She looked over at Nik with passionate eyes, "Nik?"

Nik's eyes never opened, "Hmm?"

Kim fell over her E-brake, landing partially in his arms, partially on his chest. Her lips fell into his and she kissed him. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had satisfied a need.

Nik's arms slid around her waist and he pulled her off the uncomfortable center column and onto his lap. Her head twisted so she was no comfortable once again. She continued to kiss him and she continued to need him.

She was starting to feel comfortable when the sound of sirens broke her serenity. She pulled away from him and watched the police cars drive by the bus lot. Kim sighed and looked at him, "Why do we keep doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"This." She leaned in and kissed him once again. As she pulled away, she brought herself off of his lap and back into her seat. She heard a light tapping sound. She looked down at his foot.

"Oh..."

She sighed, "Yeah..."

"Well, I guess I do it because I really like you. Why do you do it?"

"I don't know, I guess I like you too."

"Yeah..."

Another long and uncomfortable silence followed that short burst of conversation. She waited for him to say something, anything. She just wanted the silence to be broken.

Kim heard Nik say, "Do you wanna go on a date with me tomorrow?"

Kim looked over at him, "What?"

"Do you wanna go on a..."

"No, no, I heard you. I just mean, why are you asking?"

"Well, I like you and you like me, so I figured we could try going on a date."

Kim thought he was crazy...but on the other hand... "What time?"

"Noon? I'll pick you up?"

Kim nodded, "Ok, one date won't kill me, but we're gonna practice again tomorrow night, right?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, that's why our date is during the day."

Kim smiled, "Ok, then. Get the hell out of my car."

Nik smiled, "Good night."

* * *

Nik stepped out of the 911 and heard the engine start up. He watched as she backed up and drove off. Nik smiled and stepped into the 240. He started the 300 hp engine and pulled out as well.

Nik smiled as he drove over the small hill, towards his house. He passed by the parking lot where he'd seen Tom's car. He was flagged down by a few guys. He turned into the lot and parked.

Nik stepped out of his car and looked around at some of the guys. They looked serious. There cars were all American, not one single import. Not even anything European.

He then heard the sound of a familiar engine. He turned to see the Dodge Stealth driving up the road. He pulled into the lot next to Nik's car. Nik watched him step out of his car.

Tom sighed, "So how are you doing tonight?"

"Not bad, not bad at all."

Tom smiled, "I heard a lot of sirens before. That you?"

Nik nodded with a smile, "Yeah, me and Kim."

Tom stopped smiling, "Something going on between you two?"

"No, not yet."

"Not yet? Are you planning something?"

"I like her."

"Ahuh..."

"You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah, I do. I want her to be mine and I will get her back."

"She doesn't like you."

"I'm getting her back, so fuck off."

"Calm down man, I don't want any trouble."

"You go after her, you're going to have more then you can handle."

Nik looked around at all his teammates. They looked like they were going to kill him. Nik looked at Tom, "Can I go now."

Tom nodded and Nik got back into his 240. He started up the engine and drove away from the parking lot. He sighed as he took a right turn. Nik sighed, "Why am I always getting into trouble over girl?"

* * *

About me starting up BN x-mas again, no comment. 


	10. A Date to Remember

Kim sat on her front porch as she looked at her cell phone screen for the time. 12:03. He was late. She sighed and continued to wait for him. She pulled down her skirt a little bit, as to try to cover her legs.

She looked down the street and saw a black car driving up the street. She smiled as she walked out to the car. She got into the passenger seat and looked over at him, "You're late."

Nik sighed, "Sorry, I had to stop and get gas."

Kim sarcastically looked away, "Ahuh..."

Nik smiled and turned around the car. He drove towards Willow's Hill. Kim quickly realized where he was going. She sat back in her seat and waited before asking him about it.

She looked at him and said, "Why are we going to Willow's Hill?"

Nik smiled, "We're not, we're driving over it."

Kim looked at him with a smirk, "Where are you taking me."

Nik's smile widened, "You'll see."

She felt Nik press down harder on the accelerator as they drove over Willow's Hill. Kim felt a strong uphill force beating down on her as she drove up her Mountain.

Nik took a hard left turn onto the highway. It was followed by a hard right as Nik merged with the highway traffic. Kim felt the back end sway. She sighed and looked over at him, "I thought you were a calm and collected driver."

Nik nodded, "I usually am, but I'm in a hurry."

Nik accelerated to the red line and shifted into fourth gear. He began nearing 80 mph hen he began to swerve through traffic. It was hard and Kim noticed Nik angrily snarl as he slowed down to keep with traffic.

Kim waited almost fifteen minutes before she asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"New York."

"Ha, ha, seriously, where are we going?"

"New York."

"You're kidding me, right?"

Nik shook his head, "Nope."

"Why are we going there?"

"I don't know, I felt like it."

"Ok..."

Nik smiled and began swerving through traffic as he drove past the state capital. He continued to drive for 20 more minutes before he passed the state line. Kim sighed and put her seat back as she lightly dozed off to sleep.

* * *

Nik drove for another hour until he passed into NYC. He smiled as he pulled off the highway by Grand Central Station. He began to drive through the New York streets. It was a pain, but he did it anyway.

Nik looked over at Kim sleeping. She looked so peaceful. He didn't want to have to wake her up. He pulled over to a parking garage and bought a space for 3 hours.

Nik lightly tapped Kim's shoulder, not expecting her immediate reaction. She jolted up quickly and looked around. She looked over at him, "What? Are we there yet?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, come on, let's get going."

Nik stepped out of the car and reluctantly gave the valet his keys. He then took Kim's hand and walked down the street. He headed into a small pizzeria that sat underneath a large office building.

He walked over to the counter and looked at Kim, "This is why I came to New York."

Kim looked at him, "Pizza?"

Nik smiled and nodded, "Yup."

"We have pizza in Connecticut; you do know that, right?"

Nik nodded in response, "But it's nothing like true New York pizza."

Nik heard her sigh as he walked up to the counter. He ordered himself a slice of pepperoni pizza and then Kim ordered a slice of pepperoni and bacon. Nik took their pizza and sat down in a corner booth.

Kim sighed again as she bit into her pizza, "You came to New York for pizza..."

"Have you ever eaten pizza from Japan?"

"...They have pizza in Japan?"

Nik nodded, "Yup."

Kim took another bite of her pizza, "Well, this is the best date I've ever been on."

Nik smiled, "I'm glad I could do that for you.

Kim sighed, "That was sarcasm you idiot."

Nik sighed as he bit into his slice, "You don't have to be mean..."

Kim sighed, "You're such a baby."

Nik sighed, "No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

Kim smiled a little, "Don't you think this is a little childish?"

"Yeah, but we're doing it anyways."

"You're insane."

"Thank you for noticing."

* * *

Kim smiled as she finished off her pizza. She looked over at Nik and smiled. He was so innocent when he wasn't around his car. He wasn't aggressive, which was usually a turn off for her. With him though, it was attractive.

He also was nice, sweet, modest, she could go on and on about him. She really did like him. Kim lifted herself up over the table as she leaned on it. She put her index finger up and swung it back and forth, "Come here."

Nik pushed himself up and looked at her. She brought herself closer and quickly pecked his lips before pulling away. Nik sat back and looked at her, "What was that for?"

"Because you're so fucking sweet."

"Umm, thank you?"

Kim laughed and then stood up as she saw Nik finish his pizza, "Where do we go now?"

"Up."

"Up where."

"Up high."

Nik grabbed her hand again and walked away from the pizza place. Kim slowly took Nik's hand and conformed hers with it as they walked down the street. Kim smiled as they walked hand and hand together. It was like a fairy tale.

Nik walked up to the building, "It's a lot easier to get up high here then in the empire state building."

Kim nodded, "Yeah, but world commerce is such a turn off."

"Eh, it's a pretty building."

Nik lead Kim into the World Trade Towers slowly. They walked around the main floor for ten minutes before the found an elevator to take them to the top floor. They stepped out of the elevator and walked over to the window of what they thought was the top floor. They looked down on the city of New York together. People actually did look like ants form this high up.

Nik then lead her to a second elevator which took them up to the top floor. Up here, everything looked like ants. Kim smiled and looked at Nik, "Not bad."

Nik looked at her as he raised his eyebrow, "Hmm."

"I mean, taking me to the movies or for a small drive would have been better, not to mention easier, but New York is a good choice."

Nik smiled, "I'm glad you like it."

Kim felt Nik's hand leave hers and felt his arm slide around her waist. She leaned her head onto his shoulder. She smiled. She really liked being with him. She felt Nik bring his arm up and look at his watch, "Holy shit."

"What?"

"We gotta get back; I only paid for three hours at that parking spot."

"Oh." Kim followed Nik out of the Trade building and back to the parking garage. Nik gave his ticket and felt relieved when he found his car undamaged. Kim got into his passenger seat and they sped out of the building.

She felt weird driving around the crowded streets of New York. She wasn't used to experiencing the type of traffic they had here at home. She sighed and looked out her window.

She looked over at Nik, "So are we going home now?"

Nik shook his head, "Nope, we're going to get smashed."

"Umm, I've never been very much of a drinker."

"You'll learn."

Nik looked at her with a smile and she returned it almost reluctantly. She kind of didn't want to get drunk around him. She shook her head and hoped that they weren't going to get too screwed up.

Another two hours made them show up at a bar in West Hartford. Kim stepped out of the car and walked behind Nik into the bar/restaurant. She walked and saw the bar only half packed.

She followed Nik over to the back of the restaurant and walked into the kitchen behind him. She looked at Nik who looked over at the side of the kitchen with the ovens.

Nik smiled, "Joey!"

She saw a guy who looked to be in his mid-30's walk out from the hot area, "Nik, that you?"

Nik nodded and shook the guy's hand, "Hey man, Jay around?"

"Yeah, he's downstairs. What are you doing here?"

"I came back from Japan for Christmas."

Joey pointed at Kim, "Who's she?"

"My date, I'm gonna go see Jay. You wanna get me some fries and nachos?"

"Yeah man, see you later."

Kim felt her hand become grabbed by Nik's as he led her down the stairs into the basement. Nik knocked on the office door and Kim lo0oked at a short man with glasses who was sitting at a desk.

Nik smiled, "How you doing Jay?"

Jay smiled, "I'm good man, it's good to see you back in the states."

"Yeah, I came back for X-mas. Hey, you promised me you'd get me smashed when I got old enough. Well, I'm 22 and thirsty."

Jay smiled, "Tell Mike at the bar who you are. He'll help you out."

Nik smiled and grabbed Kim's hand as he walked out of the office, "Thanks man!"

Nik walked back towards the stairs and stopped halfway up. He looked down at Kim, "Hey, I'm sorry if you feel like I'm dragging you around. I don't mean to."

Kim shook her head, "No, it's fine."

Nik looked down at her, "You're beautiful."

She shook her head, "No I'm not."

Nik stepped down one step to get closer to her, "Yes you are."

She shook her head, "No I'm not."

Nik smiled, "Didn't we go over this before?"

Kim smiled seductively, "I guess you're just not a very good teacher."

Kim soon felt Nik's hand on her hip and she felt him throwing her body into a wall before pressing his lips against hers. Kim slid his arms around his neck and parted her lips to allow his tongue in her mouth.

Kim felt his body pressing hard against hers. She began to try to wiggle herself out of it but he wouldn't budge. Kim just smiled and kept kissing him. She tapped his shoulder lightly to make him stop after a few minutes.

Kim looked into his eyes, "Calm down, you'll scare little children."

Kim saw Nik look down at his crotch and took the opportunity to slip away from him. She walked out to the bar and ordered sex on the beach. It was delivered quickly and she began to drink it slowly.

She felt a light tap on her shoulder and looked behind her to see Tom. She sighed, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Tom held up his beer, "And you?"

"I'm on a date."

"With?"

She smiled, "The Highland 240."

Tom smiled and whispered, "I warned him..."

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"No, what?"

"It's just that, have you thought about why he's so interested in a girl he'll only be with for another week?"

Kim stopped. She had never thought about that. She forgot that Nik didn't live here. He was only here on a Christmas trip. Why was he so interested? Was this just a fling for him?

Tom sighed, "I talked to him last night about it. He said he's just looking for something, or his words were 'someone', to do."

Kim stopped and looked at Tom, "You're kidding me?"

Tom looked at her, "I care about you Kim, I wouldn't lie to you."

Kim leaned against the wall of the bar. She brought her drink to her lips and sipped on it slowly. She then looked at the kitchen and saw Nik walking towards her with two plates in his hand.

Nik smiled and put out a plate of nachos towards her, "Nachos?"

Kim stared at him. He was just using her. No one would look for an everlasting relationship on vacation, not even a normal relationship. It was stupid of her to think he actually cared.

She shook her head at looked at Tom as she felt her eyes become wet, "Tom, can you give me a ride home?"

* * *

Nik looked at Kim as he set the nachos and the fries down on the bar. Why was she asking him for a ride? What had happened while he was getting nachos and French fries?

Nik asked, "Kim is something wrong?"

Kim looked at him with teary eyes, "Yeah, I hate you."

Nik looked at her, "No you don't."

"Yes I do, don't tell me how I feel."

Nik looked at Tom and then back to Kim, "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing, I just pieced it all together. I hate you Nik. You said you were different and you almost fooled me, but you're just like every other guy."

"Kim, what do you..."

"Save it! Just go away, I never want to see you again." Nik watched as a single tear slid down Kim's cheek. He wanted to know what happened, but everything he said just made her upset. Nik looked away from her, "Ok, I'll go..."

Nik left his food at the bar and walked towards the door. He opened it as he walked out of the restaurant but he stopped. He looked back at Kim as she ordered another drink. Nik sighed and walked over to the 240SX.

Nik started the engine and revved it up. The sound soothed him slightly. Nik put the car in reverse. He accelerated around a left hand turn and then and immediate right as he sped past a yellow light. Nik accelerated up to 80 mph in fourth gear and kept going up.

Nik accelerated hard and shifted up to fifth gear as the car reached 100 mph. Nik slid around a long, left hand turn and accelerated towards the main part of town. Nik drove onto a back road so he could avoid the Main street strip.

Nik hit the brakes hard and downshifted to third gear as he gripped the corner and pulled back into his lane. He powered past a red light. His speed wasn't doing it. He needed to go faster. Nik accelerated harder and downshifted as he sped up a hill.

Nik went into fourth as he downshifted to handle a left hand corner. The car slid hard and pushed the car from its regular angle into an insane160° turn. He used the built-up inertia to drift around the next right hand turn. Nik drove very carefully so he wouldn't over correct and send himself into a spin.

Nik slightly over-corrected as to build up inertia for the next turn. The continuous ninety degree turns put a lot of pressure on his body. There were high G-forces coming from each turn. His speed was high and his tires were smoking.

Nik looked ahead and swerved through traffic as he drove through an intersection. He drifted right and used a Kansei drift to send him sliding into the next turn. He kept driving up towards the lake and he slid uphill along a right hand turn. He saw an entrance to the lake run.

Nik lay down on the accelerator hard. His vision became blurred quickly as salty water filled up his eyes. Nik closed his eyes and whimpered as he slammed the brakes and did a 540 degree turn, nearly hitting the stop sign he'd hit when driving the Accord.

Nik pounded on the edge of his Momo steering wheel continuously until he couldn't feel his hand. He put his head on it and cried silently. He just couldn't hold in his emotions anymore.

He had figured something out. There where four words that he could now use to sum up the way he felt about Kim. He loved her. He didn't really know what love was, but he knew that was how he felt about her.

He couldn't get his mind off from the moment he met her. He didn't want to. He wanted to hold her close to him. He wanted to press his lips against hers. He wanted just to stare at her forever. He loved her. He loved her more then he'd loved anyone else in his entire life. He loved her deeply and passionately. He loved her...

* * *

Yo ya'll, FYI, I'm probably changing my story to an M rating soon because of upcoming chapters. It's probably only gonna be one or two chapters, so I might just put in my info "Don't read chapter X + Y if M ratings scare you" or something like that. Till then, Gohan gaitei wo doko desu ka?


	11. Missing You

Kim barely slept at all that night. She couldn't get him out of her head. She was dreaming about memories of him. Them the night they met, the next day at the pizza parlor, and then again at the restaurant.

She then remembered the first time they kissed, then the second, and the third... Kim awoke again with a stir. Her body was covered in a cold sweat. She wiped the sweat off of her face and walked into her bathroom.

She splashed cold water on her face for the third time that night. Kim sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. She could barley tell her tears apart from the water running down her face. Kim shut her eyes as she shut off the faucet to have her ears become filled with another sound.

Kim's eyes opened up wide. Her instincts ran over the engine, '_That's an engine. It's a 2.2...no, a 2.4 liter engine. An inline 4, turbocharged. Between 290 and 300 hp. It's a Silvia engine. An S-13...a 240?'_

Kim ran to her window and opened it up quickly. She looked across the road. There it sat. The street lights shone off of the metallic black paint job. She looked at the driver who only looked like a shadowy figure. A tear fell down her face.

The car turned and screeched as it began a donut. After a half donut, the tires countered and the car drove down the road. Kim watched as the taillights disappeared. She saw his brake lights as he drifted around a corner.

Kim sighed, "He used you and you still love him. Why?"

Kim turned around and fell down onto her bed. Her head was dug into her pillow, but she could still hear herself crying. She wiped her tears off of her face as she heard her phone begin to vibrate.

She brought her phone to her ear and spoke with a raspy voice, "Hello?"

"Kim? Are you ok?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"

"Umm, Oh yeah! I got a call from Bakersville Muscle. They want to race tonight at ten. Tom made sure the lake was gonna be clear."

Kim had forgotten about the race. She shook her head to clear it out, "Yeah, whatever."

"You don't sound to excited to beat Tom after what happened."

"I'm just not in the mood."

"Get the team together and meet me at the lake for eight to go over some things."

"You got it bitch, see you then."

Kim smiled lightly, "Bye bitch."

Kim hung up the phone and sighed. She walked over to her drawer and pulled out a pair of jeans and a large sweatshirt. She quickly dressed herself and went down to her kitchen. She left a note for her mother saying that she had to leave early and she'd be back that night.

Kim walked outside after putting on her leather jacket. Kim looked at her red 911. She smiled, "Ready to go baby?"

Kim slid into her driver's seat and started up her 3.6 liter power house. She revved her engine twice and put the car in gear as she pulled out of her driveway. She accelerated around a right hand corner and then headed towards Willow's Hill.

Kim parked at the top and looked down it. She knew this road. This was her road. Before her, there wasn't anyone racing touge on this mountain. Now she could barley get it to herself.

She began her downhill run slowly. She was only going 75 as she powered through the first light, right hand turn. She sped up to ninety by the time she hit the first set of hairpins.

The first hairpin was wide but tightened up quickly. The second two were very tight. The road widened up again but then tightened around the next sharp right/left combo. Kim accelerated down a straight that landed her at another set of hairpins. She drifted through them quickly.

Kim felt water on her cheeks. She was driving to try to make her stop being emotional. She wanted to push her car so that she could forget about the world. It wasn't working.

Kim accelerated harder and faster. She slid around a sharp four turn combo. Her car's grip was at its limits as she took a wide hairpin turn. Kim's foot was floored on the accelerator as she sped down the mountain towards the S-curve.

Kim quickly downshifted and slid wide around the corner. She used the inertia to drift the second turn and then powered down the straight. Kim couldn't tell how limited her tire grip had become.

Kim entered the next turn with an extremely limited amount of tire grip. Kim four-wheel drifted around the corner, despite the fact that she had attempted to two-wheel drift.

Kim sighed as she felt like she was going to slow. She shifted into sixth gear and kept pressing her way down the mountain. She accelerated into a light, left hand corner like she always would.

The car's turning force combined with the high speed sent Kim into a full throttle spin. Kim let off the throttle and lightly tapped the brakes trying to regain control before she got to the next hairpin.

Kim tapped on the brakes again and felt the car slide back into place. Kim sighed and heel/toe downshifted as she entered the hairpin. She slowed down to second gear and then powered out. Kim began to upshift again.

Kim got back up to fifth gear before she hit a sharp, right hand turn. She handled the turn in third gear and then accelerated outward. She then accelerated towards another set of hairpins. Kim accelerated through the hairpins, downshifting one gear for each of the three turns.

Kim hit a long, left hand turn. She pulled her E-brake at the apex of the turn to induce a heavy oversteer. Kim slid around the turn and then accelerated towards Willow's famous hairpins.

These corners were 4 steep hairpins that involved tunneling underneath the previous turns. These corners were first two corners were extremely wide and long, involving the ability to hold a very long drift. The second two were tight, but still long, meaning they needed a sustained drift that didn't have much room for mistakes.

Kim shifted up to sixth gear and headed towards the first hairpin. She downshifted into fourth gear and powered through the corner, Kim's exit speed was high as she shifted up to fifth gear as she accelerated towards turn two.

Kim downshifted to third gear on this turn and used her E-brake to maintain the drift. Kim then accelerated down a slightly longer straight. She entered the turn going too fast to handle the turn.

Kim turned into the turn and heel/toe downshifted. The turning force combined with her braking sent her into a high angle drift. The 911 sat on it's limit of lateral adhesion. They wouldn't hold up through another turn, but Kim wasn't paying attention. She just wanted to forget. She wanted to forget about him. She didn't want to think about him ever again...

"Why won't you just get out of my head!"

Kim entered the second turn using a feint drift and her limits of lateral adhesion were broken as she hit the apex of the turn. She began to spin once again and the narrow road gave her no room to correct. She couldn't correct. She couldn't see through her tear filled eyes.

She hit her rear bumper on the guard rail and caused her car to 'jump' as it reversed back to face the road. It slid out again and did a five-forty as she got on the accelerator again. She didn't notice the wheels were facing straight and she sped into the guardrail.

She broke through it as she slammed on the brakes. Her front end started to slowly slide over the cliffs edge. Kim pulled up on her E-brake and the car stopped sliding. Kim gently opened her driver side door and stepped out of the car slowly. Kim backed away from the edge of the cliff and looked at her car. The front tires hung over the edge.

Kim grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and called Jess. It rung twice before she answered. Kim explained what had happened and Jess said she'd come up in a bit with some help.

20 minutes later, Kim saw a red Eagle Talon driving up the road followed by a black Chevy S-10 that had two stickers on it. One said 'Black Metal' and the other held a 'Blak Nite's' insignia on it.

Kim cringed at the sight of the Blak Nite's insignia. She was somewhat relieved to see Kevin get out. Jess ran over to Kim, "Are you ok? What the fuck happened?"

Kim shook her head, "I entered the corner too fast, then I spun twice before accelerating right through the rail."

Kevin looked at the car, "I can get it off the cliff, then I'll go get the garage's truck and we can take it to my shop."

Kim nodded and watched as Kevin connected a cable to her car and pulled it off of the ledge. She then waited in Jess's car as Kevin left and came back quickly with his tow truck. He hoisted it up and then Kim and Jess followed Kevin to the garage.

Inside, Kevin hoisted the truck up onto the hydraulic lift. Kevin looked underneath the car and sighed as he looked over at Kim, "The cliff cut into the muffler and it snapped the fuel line. Besides that its body damage, but I think that you might have damaged your intercooler on impact."

Kim sighed, "How long?"

"Labor would only be a couple of hours, but it would take me at least a day to get the needed parts."

Jess looked at Kim, "You have your race against Tom on the lake tonight. What the hell are we gonna do?"

Kim sighed and bit the skin of her thumb, "I don't know..."

Jess sighed, "Would you race the Talon? My TSi has 310 hp."

Kim sighed, "I wouldn't be able to get used to the 4WD in time."

Kevin said, "We'll, you could take my old MR2. It's drift ready and N/A like your Porsche, but it only has 220 hp."

Kim shook her head, "My power wouldn't be able to compare with Tom's. Face it, I'm screwed."

They all sat or leaned as they spoke about options with nothing coming to them. Kim had to race Tom. She couldn't lose twice. On the other hand, if she won, she would have to see Nik again as they raced. She couldn't race him at full capacity because of what happened...

"What about the M3?"

Kim looked over at Jess, "What?"

"Did you ever sell your M3?"

Kim shook her head, "No, but the car isn't exactly in prime condition."

Kevin asked, "What's wrong with it?"

She sighed, "It's in my garage, the bumpers off, the muffler is off, the intercoolers out, the dashboard is out, the tires and brakes are off, and then paint is all gray because of the base coat."

"How long to think that would take to put back together?"

"I don't know, a few days by myself."

Jess asked, "What if we helped you?"

Kim shook her head, "I don't know, maybe. The thing has 300 hp, plus my suspension upgrades. Who knows? It might hold up."

Kevin nodded, "It's settled then. We'll attach the wheels at your place, and then bring it here with the tow truck and you guys can bring the smaller parts with the TSi. Agreed?"

Kim and Jess nodded, and sure enough, that's what happened. When they got to the shop, Kevin fixed the brakes and called a friend of his to do a paint job for cheap. Jess worked on the dash as Kim worked on the intercooler and muffler.

After three hours, the car was taken to the paint shop. Kim ate, or rather watched Kevin and Jess eat, lunch. She sat and stared out the restaurant window. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him...?

"So why were you crying this morning?"

Kim looked over at Jess, "I wasn't crying..."

"Yeah you were, so why?"

"Men."

"Mr.240 and you? I thought you guys were good."

She sighed and picked up her glass of sprite, "I just put some things together and found out he was just like every other guy."

Kevin laughed as he choked back a curly fry. Jess looked at him, "What was that about?"

He shook his head, "Nothing, it's just I've never heard 'Nik' and 'Just like every other guy' in the same sentence before."

Kim sighed, "He was using me, plain and simple. No one would want to start a relationship they knew would only last a week and a half."

Kevin sighed, "I guess Nik's name is no one then. That sounds exactly like something he would do."

"So he would only want a small relationship with no emotions?"

"Nope, it wouldn't matter to him if you lived on Pluto and he lived on Mercury, he'd try his hardest to make it work."

"That's insane."

"Once again, that's Nik. He has this thing about girls. If he thinks he's found the right one, he'll do whatever it takes to hold onto them. He's insane like that."

"So what are you saying?"

"What were you told?"

"This guy asked me why Nik would start a relationship when he was leaving in a week."

Jess looked at Kim, "What guy?"

"Tom."

Jess sighed and smacked Kim across the face. She looked at her, "Tom equals normal man. Normal man equals 'wants to get in your pants'."

Kim nodded, "I knew that, but it was a hard situation to over look."

Kevin paid the waitress before he said, "You have to look past your normal limitations and find a higher level of thinking. Nik used to say 'higher level of driving', but I think a slight augmentation might make things seem more understandable."

Kim sighed and followed them out to the restaurant and over to the paint shop. The car had been finished and now shone with it's original red paint. Kim smiled and stepped into the car as she turned on the engine and heard it roar to life. Kim revved it a few times to get a feel for it.

Kim looked at her clock. It clearly read 3:30. She looked at Jess, "I want the whole team at the lake for 8:00, not a minute later."

Jess nodded, "See you then."

Kim put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. Kim accelerated hard around a ninety degree corner and felt her suspension hand the corner with ease. Her and this old thing might still win, if she could focus...

* * *

Nik lay on his bed staring at his ceiling with an odd gaze. He had been staring at a bug that had been flying around for almost 2 hours now. It just kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing.

Nik then heard footsteps. He looked at the blond haired thing in his door way and asked, "What?"

Al walked over to his brother and handed him a plate, "Mom got pizza, I brought you up some pepperoni."

Nik took the plate, "Thanks."

He sighed, "Some people stopped by to see you." Nik looked towards the door as Mei and Kevin walked in the house. Nik smiled and sat up, "What the fuck do you assholes want?"

Mei smiled, "Tonight is my last night with the Monte Carlo. I figured we should give her a good send off."

Kevin nodded, "Yeah man, come on. This might be my last night to run with my old team."

Nik sighed, "I really don't feel like driving..."

Mei sighed and stood up, "Too bad dickey lets go."

Nik sighed and rolled over onto the floor. He got up and picked up his keys as he followed Mei and Kevin out of the house. Alex followed and stepped into Kevin's old MR2.

They all started up their cars and pulled out of the driveway as they headed towards the lake. The line was Kevin, then Mei, then Al, then Nik at the rear. Nik drove along as he rested his elbow on the window and his head in his palm.

They started there run fast as Kevin powered along the wide left and then accelerated towards the right/left combo. Kevin drifted hard and watched as Mei caught up to him. Al was still trailing, but he seemed happy to be in a powerful car.

Nik slid around the corners at low speeds, using his E-brake do induce oversteer. Nik wasn't driving very hard. He was thinking about Kim. He just kept thinking about it. They soon entered the high speed section. They all tandem drifted through the right/left combo. They all long slid around the 75° corner and then went towards the V-turn. They took it lightly and then powered towards the start/finish line.

Nik looked ahead as he saw the MR2's blinker light come on. Nik followed the cars into the lot and they were soon surrounded by the many cars of spectators. They all walked to the starting line as they saw a guy counting down from 5. Nik's eyes watched the Blue Stealth and the Red M3 pull off the starting line.

Nik sighed, "I guess Toms racing."

Kevin nodded, "Yeah, Kim's M3 is holding up pretty well."

Nik's eyes widened, "WHAT?"

* * *

Hey, sorry this took so long. I got more hours at work, so I've been busy. I've also been learning how to drift on GT3. I got in a little typing during my usual work hours. (Midnight-whenever)

Anyway, I hope to get the next chapter up soon. I've been contemplating on where to take my story from here and I've got some interesting ideas. They'll all come out in time. Till then, Gohan gaitei wo doko desu ka?


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